hverken ... eller

Neither ... nor

Level 3

Use hverken ... eller to say that none of the listed options are true or applicable. It is the Danish equivalent of 'neither ... nor'.

How It Works

The expression hverken ... eller is used to emphasize that two (or sometimes more) possibilities are being rejected.

1. Usage with Different Parts of Speech:
It can link almost any parallel grammatical unit:

  • Nouns: Jeg drikker hverken kaffe eller te.
  • Adjectives: Han er hverken glad eller trist.
  • Verbs: Hun kan hverken svømme eller cykle.

2. Word Order and Position:
When hverken ... eller links two subjects at the beginning of a sentence, the entire block acts as the subject, and the verb follows normally according to the V2 rule. Danish finite verbs do not agree in person or number, so the form is kommer with either singular or plural subjects: Hverken han eller hun kommer.

In the middle of a sentence, hverken occupies the same position as ikke, acting as the negative central adverb: Han kom hverken i går eller i dag. (He came neither yesterday nor today.) To link two verb phrases, place hverken before the first verb: Han hverken spiste eller drak.

3. Punctuation:
In Danish, you generally do not place a comma before eller when it is part of the hverken ... eller construction.

4. Pronunciation:
Note that the 'h' in hverken is silent, so it is pronounced starting with a 'v' sound (/vɛɐ̯kən/).

5. Comparison with 'ikke':
While you could use ikke ... eller (not ... or), hverken ... eller is more formal and emphatic, clearly framing the items as a specific set of excluded choices.

Examples (5)

  1. Jeg har hverken tid eller penge.

    I have neither time nor money.

    Word by Word: I have neither time nor money.

    Here, the conjunction links two nouns (tid and penge) to show that the speaker lacks both.

  2. Filmen var hverken god eller dårlig.

    The movie was neither good nor bad.

    Word by Word: The movie was neither good nor bad.

    In this case, the pattern links two adjectives to describe a neutral state.

  3. Han kan hverken læse eller skrive.

    He can neither read nor write.

    Word by Word: He can neither read nor write.

    The conjunction links two infinitive verbs following the modal verb 'kan'.

  4. Hverken min mor eller min far kommer i dag.

    Neither my mother nor my father is coming today.

    Word by Word: Neither my mother nor my father comes today.

    The coordinated phrase is the subject. Kommer is the same present-tense form for singular and plural subjects; this is not singular verb agreement.

  5. Vi skal hverken have pizza eller pasta til aftensmad.

    We are having neither pizza nor pasta for dinner.

    Word by Word: We shall neither have pizza nor pasta for dinner.

    This shows the pattern used within a sentence containing a modal verb (skal).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'hverken ... og' instead of 'hverken ... eller'.

    Jeg vil hverken have æbler og pærer.
    Jeg vil hverken have æbler eller pærer.

    In English, we say 'neither ... nor'. In Danish, you must use 'eller' (or) with 'hverken', never 'og' (and).

  • Using 'hverken' with a negative verb.

    Jeg har ikke hverken tid eller penge.
    Jeg har hverken tid eller penge.

    For the simple neither-nor meaning, hverken already negates both items, so omit ikke in this model sentence. This does not prohibit every occurrence of ikke and hverken in a larger sentence, especially a separated afterthought or a different scope.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

hverken ... ellerLevel 3Neither ... nor

Learn This First

To understand 'hverken ... eller' (neither ... nor), you first need to be familiar with basic conjunctions like 'og' (and) and 'eller' (or), as this pattern builds on the logic of connecting two items. Additionally, since this pattern is used to negate both options, a solid grasp of basic negation with 'ikke' is necessary.

Words in This Pattern

hverkeneller