correlative conjunctions: neither … nor

On this page

• Parallelism with “neither … nor”
• Agreement in “neither … nor”
• Additional information

Parallelism with “neither … nor”

The correlative conjunction neither … nor co-ordinates two or more words, phrases or clauses.

Note that the constructions following these correlatives should be parallel in structure. That is, if you use a noun after one, you must use a noun after the other; if you use a noun phrase after one, you must use a noun phrase after the other; and so on.

• Neither Nova Scotia nor New Brunswick is involved in the project.
• Neither the hockey players nor the Toronto fans were happy with the final score.
• For dessert, you can have either ice cream, lemon pie or chocolate cake.

Agreement in “neither … nor”

When you use neither … nor to join two or more subjects, make sure that the verb agrees in number with the nearest subject.

• Neither my friends nor I am interested in modern art.
• Neither I nor my friends are interested in modern art.

Additional information

• Correlative conjunctions