We all know that the paired correlative conjunction “neither…nor” works to join two noun forms or two independent clauses to denote the sense of “not one or the other of two,” as in “
Neither the bride nor the groom made it to the wedding on time” (two correlated nouns) and “
Neither does Ana want to go with us now nor does she want to follow us later” (two correlated independent clauses). In both cases, “neither” and “nor” work together to join a pair of noun forms or a pair of clauses that depend on each other to form a complete thought.
That much is clear about how “neither…nor” works grammatically, but Forum member Miss Mae some years back raised this very interesting question about the conjunctive pair: “Can ‘nor’ be used without its partner ‘neither’?”
My reply to Miss Mae:
Definitely yes, the conjunction “nor” can be used without the conjunction “neither.” On its own, “nor” works to introduce the second or last member or the second and each member of a series of items that follows, each of which is negated, as in the sentence “The burden
wasn’t carried by you
nor by me
nor by anyone for that matter.” Indeed, this is the most common task of “nor” when used as a stand-alone conjunction.
When there are only two members of a series of items, however, “nor” works with “neither” in the negative correlative form “neither…nor,” as in “
Neither you nor I carried the burden.” In this construction, the negative correlative “neither…nor” is only used to mean “not one or the other of two.” When the reference is to “none of several,” however, “none” instead of “neither” is used: “
None of the five reelectionists passed the advocacy group’s integrity test.”
Also, the conjunction “neither” is not used in tandem with “nor” when “nor” introduces and negates a succeeding clause or phrase, as in “The candidate
didn’t mind being labeled a family dynast,
nor did she mind being deemed unqualified.” On a more profound note, the same stand-alone usage of “nor” can be seen in Psalm 121:6 of the New International Version of the Bible: “The sun
will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.”
At all times, it is important to remember three grammatical caveats to ensure that “nor” works correctly when used in tandem with “neither”:
(1) When two subjects are linked by “neither…nor,” the verb that follows them must agree in number—whether singular or plural—with the subject nearer that verb. In this example, the verb is in the singular form “wants” to agree with the singular noun “brother”: “
Neither her parents nor her brother wants Alicia to get married before she finishes college.” In this other example, the verb is in the plural form “want” to agree with the plural “parents”: “
Neither her brother nor her parents want Alicia to get married before she finishes college.”
(2) When two antecedent subjects are linked by “neither…nor,” the pronoun that comes after them must agree with the antecedent subject closer to it. Singular pronoun “his” for “Emilio”: “
Neither his coworkers nor Emilio finished his assignment that day.” Plural pronoun “their” for “coworkers”: “
Neither Emilio nor his coworkers finished their work that day.”
(3) When two independent clauses are linked by “neither…nor,” they should have the same grammatical form and be structurally parallel. Example: “
Neither did Juliet inform her boss nor did she tell her fellow employees about her plan to quit her job.” Take note that in this example, both “neither” and “nor” are followed by the past tense of the helping verb “do” before the main verbs “inform” and “tell,” making the clauses functionally coequal and structurally parallel in the negative sense.
This essay first appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the print and online editions of the May 17, 2013 issue of The Manila Times
, © 2013 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
