nóg ... nóg
Neither ... nor
Nóg X nóg Y means neither X nor Y: Die kinders het nóg geld nóg kos gehad. (The children had neither money nor food.)
How It Works
1. The pattern. Put nóg before each item: nóg geld nóg kos (neither money nor food). The items can be nouns, adjectives or phrases:
- Die kamer is nóg groot nóg duur. (The room is neither big nor expensive.)
- Nóg my broer nóg my suster het die boodskap gekry. (Neither my brother nor my sister got the message.)
2. The accents. Without accents, nog means still, yet or more: Hy slaap nog. (He is still asleep.) The acute accent on nóg ... nóg marks the stress and shows the other meaning, just as it does in óf ... óf.
3. No closing nie. Most negative words in Afrikaans need a second nie at the end. Nóg ... nóg is an exception: the pair is complete on its own. If you prefer the usual pattern, say the same thing with nie ... nie and of: Die kinders het nie geld of kos gehad nie.
4. Word order. When the nóg phrase is the subject, the whole phrase fills first place and the verb comes second: Nóg my broer nóg my suster het ...
Idiom: Hy is nóg vis nóg vlees (literally neither fish nor meat) describes someone or something that is neither one thing nor the other.
Examples (5)
- Die kinders het nóg geld nóg kos gehad.
The children had neither money nor food.
Word by Word: The children have neither money nor food had.
There is no nie at the end: nóg ... nóg is already negative.
- Nóg my broer nóg my suster het die boodskap gekry.
Neither my brother nor my sister got the message.
Word by Word: Neither my brother nor my sister has the message got.
- Die kamer is nóg groot nóg duur.
The room is neither big nor expensive.
Word by Word: The room is neither big nor expensive.
- Ek hou nóg van koffie nóg van tee.
I like neither coffee nor tea.
Word by Word: I hold neither of coffee nor of tea.
- Hy is nóg vis nóg vlees.
He is neither one thing nor the other.
Word by Word: He is neither fish nor meat.
A fixed idiom for someone or something without a clear character.
Common Mistakes
Adding a closing nie.
Die kinders het nóg geld nóg kos gehad nie.Die kinders het nóg geld nóg kos gehad.Nóg ... nóg is complete on its own, so standard Afrikaans does not add nie. Use nie ... nie with of if you want the usual double negative.
Using of for the second half.
Die kinders het nóg geld of kos gehad.Die kinders het nóg geld nóg kos gehad.English neither ... nor uses two different words, but Afrikaans repeats nóg before both items.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Neither ... nor is the negative partner of either ... or.
Related Patterns
- sowel ... asBoth ... and: Sowel ... as
Both ... and, the opposite of neither ... nor.
Level 4 - nog nie/nie meer nieNot Yet and No Longer
Uses unaccented nog, meaning still or yet, which nóg must not be confused with.
Level 2 - geenNo, Not Any: Geen
Another way to say that something is not there at all.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice nóg ... nóg in Bubblegum
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