nə ... nə də
Neither nor
Use nə ... nə də to exclude two or more options simultaneously. It translates to 'neither... nor' in English.
How It Works
The pattern nə ... nə də is the standard way to express 'neither... nor' in Azerbaijani.
1. Structure:
The first item is preceded by nə, and the second item is preceded by nə də. Unlike the standalone additive particle da/də, the də in this specific pattern is fixed. Because it follows the word nə (which has a front vowel), it always remains də and does not change to 'da'.
2. The Verb Agreement Rule:
In formal Azerbaijani, you must use a positive verb. The nə particle already carries the negative meaning. Using a negative verb (like those with present negation) creates a double negative, which is avoided in standard speech.
3. Multiple Items:
If you are listing more than two items, you use nə for the initial items and nə də for the final one (e.g., nə A, nə B, nə də C).
4. Subject-Verb Agreement:
When connecting different subjects (like 'I' and 'you'), the verb usually takes the plural form that encompasses both (e.g., 'we').
Examples (4)
- Nə çay istəyirəm, nə də kofe.
I want neither tea nor coffee.
Word by Word: Neither tea I-want, neither also coffee.
Notice that 'istəyirəm' (I want) is in the positive form, but the sentence means 'I don't want either'.
- Nə o gəldi, nə də qardaşı zəng etdi.
Neither did he come, nor did his brother call.
Word by Word: Neither he came, neither also brother-his call did.
This shows the pattern connecting two complete clauses. A comma is used before the second 'nə'.
- Nə mən, nə də sən oraya gedəcəyik.
Neither I nor you will go there.
Word by Word: Neither I, neither also you there will-go-we.
When the subjects are 'I' and 'you', the verb 'gedəcəyik' takes the first person plural ending.
- Bu kitab nə maraqlıdır, nə də faydalı.
This book is neither interesting nor useful.
Word by Word: This book neither interesting-is, neither also useful.
Here, the pattern connects two adjectives describing the same noun.
Common Mistakes
Using a negative verb with 'nə ... nə də'.
Nə o gəlmədi, nə də mən.Nə o gəldi, nə də mən.In formal Azerbaijani, the verb must be affirmative because 'nə' already negates the sentence. Using 'gəlmədi' (didn't come) creates an incorrect double negative.
Changing 'də' to 'da' based on the following word's vowels.
Nə kitab, nə da qələm var.Nə kitab, nə də qələm var.The particle 'də' in this pattern is fixed because it follows the word 'nə', which contains the front vowel 'ə'. It does not harmonize with the nouns or verbs that follow it.
Misplacing the particle 'də' after the noun instead of after 'nə'.
Nə çay da, nə kofe içirəm.Nə çay, nə də kofe içirəm.The particle 'də' must be attached to the second 'nə' to form the correlative unit 'nə də'. It should not be placed after the first noun.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand 'nə ... nə də', learners need to be familiar with the word 'nə' and the additive particle 'də'. It is also helpful to have encountered the positive correlative 'həm... həm də' as they share a similar syntactic structure.
- nə (sual əvəzliyi)What Question Word
The correlative conjunction is built using the word 'nə' (what), which the learner should already be familiar with as a basic question word.
Level 2 - həm ... həm dəBoth and
Understanding the structure of positive correlative conjunctions ('both... and') provides the structural template for this negative equivalent.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- ya ... ya daEither or
This means 'either... or', used when choosing one of two options instead of rejecting both.
Level 3 - da/də (əlavə)Additive Da/də
The 'də' in this pattern is the same additive particle, though here it is fixed to the word 'nə'.
Level 3 - deyilNominal Negation
Used for nominal negation, whereas 'nə ... nə də' provides a way to negate multiple items simultaneously.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice nə ... nə də in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Azerbaijani lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
