Neither … nor means “not A and not B”. It rules out both options at once: neither the first nor the second applies. The negative is already built into it, so the verb next to it stays positive: She speaks neither French nor German.
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neither + A + nor + B (A and B in the same form); positive verb + neither A nor B; Neither A nor B + verb (agrees with B)
- The hotel was neither clean nor quiet, so we left after one night.
- Neither my manager nor my colleagues know about the new schedule yet.
- The new policy will neither reduce traffic nor improve air quality in the city centre.
What changed
First versionMy new phone is neither cheap, neither fast.
RevisionMy new phone is neither cheap nor fast.
It may seem natural to repeat the same word before each item: neither cheap, neither fast. But in this pair, neither is always followed by nor. The second neither was replaced with nor, and no comma is needed before it.
If the sentence already has not, you need a different pair, either … or: I don't eat either meat or fish. It means the same as I eat neither meat nor fish, and in conversation people often say it even more simply: I don't eat meat or fish. When neither … nor links two subjects, the verb agrees with the closer one: Neither my brother nor my parents were at home.
Your turn
Anna ___ neither meat nor fish, so we booked a table at a vegetarian restaurant.
Show the answer
eats — Neither … nor already rules out both meat and fish, so the verb must be positive: eats. Doesn't eat would create a double negative, and standard English keeps only one negative in a clause.
Write about a purchase, a trip or a film that disappointed you. Use neither … nor to name two qualities it lacked.
The film everyone recommended was neither funny nor exciting, so I left before the end.
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