17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives

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 Either/Or and Neither/Nor To or Too?

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(Beware Double Negatives)
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Affect or Effect? Buy Our
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cow's milk
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(singular
or The pairing Neither/Nor plays a negative
role, so take care to avoid an unintended
plural?)
double negative. For example:
data
He didn't nd neither the map "Smashing
(singular
nor the key. Grammar"
or
(2019)
plural?) Neither is paired with nor and either is Written by the
Add a paired with or. You cannot mix them, but founder of Grammar
grammar often the word either is omitted. Monster, "Smashing
checker Grammar" includes a
to your glossary of grammar
browser essentials (from
either/or Either/Or and Neither/Nor apostrophes to
(plural zeugma) and a
(Beware Double Negatives) chapter on easily
or The pairings either/or and neither/nor can be confused words
singular used to group two people or things. (Although (from affect/effect
verb?) not a major grammatical error, the grouping of to whether/if). Each
extending a more than two things is frowned upon by entry starts with a
sentence followers of some style conventions.) simple explanation
(semicolons, and basic examples
colons and Examples: before moving to
dashes) real-life,
I could neither laugh nor cry. entertaining
for free Either the clerk or the secretary has the examples. All entries
(grammatically keys to the Rover. conclude with a
correct?)
 Previous Topic: data(Using has isor
(singular correct. Using have Topic: either/or section
Nextwould (plural highlighting
or singular
be wrong.) why the grammar
plural?) verb?) 
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17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives
plural?) verb?) 
Read more about using a singular or plural verb point is relevant for
with Either/Or and Neither/Nor. a writer and top-
level bullet points
The clerk or the secretary has the keys summarizing the
to the Rover. entry. [More…]
(You can often omit the word either.)
He did not nd the key either on or
under the mat.
Neither the forwards nor the scrumhalf,
all of whom were within 10 metres of
the tackle, nor the crowd appealed for a
foul.
(It is quite harsh to mark this as wrong,
but grouping three things is an
"Grammar for
unpopular style that is likely to irk your
Grown-ups"
readers.)
(2011)
Vocational rather

Beware Double Negative than academic,

"Grammar for
The pairing neither/nor plays a negative role in
Grown-ups" is
the sentence. Be careful not to use a double
packed with real-life
negative.
examples and keeps
you engaged with a
Adam did not nd the key neither on wealth of great
nor under the mat. quotations from
(This is a double negative.) Homer the Greek to
He did not mention neither the ooding Homer the Simpson.
nor the landslide. Straight talking and
(This is a double negative.) methodical, Craig
He mentioned neither the ooding nor Shrives draws on his
the landslide. years compiling
Grammar Monster
He did not mention either the ooding and as an army
or the landslide. of cer to present a
comprehensive but
light-hearted and
A Double Negative Is Not Always a easily digestible
Mistake grammar reference
Remember, a double negative is not always a guide. [More…]
mistake, but it might change the intended
meaning. For example:
Free
I haven't got no money.
(This is a double negative. It means I
Help
have money, which is almost certainly Everything on
not the message the speaker wanted to Grammar
convey.) Monster is free.
She is not unattractive.
(This is also a double negative. It could
mean She is attractive or She is not Grammar
ugly. In this case, the positive sentiment Glossary
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plural?) verb?) 
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17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives
plural?) verb?) 
is probably what the speaker wanted to
convey.)
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Q1: Either/Or and Neither/Nor are

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classi ed as:
tips (weekly)
A: Subordinating Conjunctions
...or join our
B: Coordinating Conjunctions group and ask a
grammar
question.
C: Correlative Conjunctions

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A

smart
 Previous Topic: See
data Also
(singular or Next Topic: either/or (plural
grammar or singular
plural?) checker verb?) 
https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/either_or_neither_nor_double_negative.htm 3/6
17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives
plural?) verb?) 
What are conjunctions?
What are double negatives?
Either/or plural or singular verb?

Take
another
test on the
difference
between
either and
neither.

Beware

Don't Use
Or with
Neither
The pairings
either/or and
neither/nor are
known as
correlative
conjunctions.

You cannot mix

them. In other
words, either
cannot pair with
nor, and neither
cannot pair with
or.

(Note: It is
common to omit
either from the
either/or
pairing.)

Note

 Previous Topic: data (singular or Next Topic: either/or (plural or singular

plural?) verb?) 
https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/either_or_neither_nor_double_negative.htm 4/6
17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives
plural?) verb?) 
What Is a
Double
Negative?
The two
sentences below
are examples of
double
negatives:

David
doesn't
know
nothing.

David
did not
see no
car.

Remember, two
negatives make
a positive. The
examples above
are not
grammatically
incorrect, but
they probably
do not mean
what the
originator
intended.

My
kids
don't
believe
in no
Santa
Clause.

(This
means
they do
believe
in
Santa.)

Read more
about double
negatives.

 Previous Topic: data (singular or Next Topic: either/or (plural or singular

plural?) verb?) 
https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/either_or_neither_nor_double_negative.htm 5/6
17/10/2019 Either/Or and Neither/Nor - Beware Double Negatives
plural?) verb?) 
What Are
Correlative
Conjunctions?
Correlative
conjunctions are
used in pairs to
link equivalent
elements in a
sentence. The
most common
ones are:

either...or
neither...nor
not
only...but
also
so...as

Read more
about
correlative
conjunctions.

 Previous Topic: data (singular or Next Topic: either/or (plural or singular

plural?) verb?) 
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