ne...ni...ni

Neither...nor with Ne...ni...ni

Level 2

Use ne... ni... ni to say 'neither... nor' in French. It negates a list of items or actions.

How It Works

The ne... ni... ni construction is a coordinating negative structure. It allows you to exclude multiple elements simultaneously.

1. Placement:
The ne precedes the conjugated verb, and ni precedes each noun, adjective, or infinitive. If you are negating more than two things, you can continue to add ni (e.g., ni A, ni B, ni C). Note that ne... ni... ni replaces pas entirely; the word pas is dropped. If you have object pronouns, they are placed immediately before the conjugated verb or auxiliary, right after ne (e.g., Je ne l'ai ni vu ni entendu).

2. Compound Tenses:
In compound tenses like the passé composé, the ne precedes the auxiliary verb (avoir or être). If you are negating the verbs themselves, ni precedes each past participle (e.g., Je n'ai ni mangé ni bu). However, if you are negating the objects of the verb, ni follows the past participle (e.g., Je n'ai vu ni Paul ni Marie).

3. Negating Conjugated Verbs:
When you negate two separate actions with conjugated verbs, the structure changes to ne [verb 1] ni ne [verb 2]. For example: Il ne chante ni ne danse (He neither sings nor dances).

4. The Article Rule (Crucial):

  • Indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) are generally dropped. However, un and une can be kept if used emphatically as numbers (e.g., Je n'ai ni un frère ni une sœur).
  • Definite articles (le, la, les), as well as possessive adjectives (like mon, ton) and demonstrative adjectives (like ce, cette), are kept.

5. Prepositions vs. Negation Markers:
The de that usually appears in negative sentences (like pas de) is omitted in this construction. However, actual prepositions like à or de required by a verb (like parler de or avoir besoin de) are kept and repeated after every ni (e.g., Je ne parle ni à Paul ni à Marie).

6. Subject Agreement:
If ni... ni is used for the subjects of a sentence, the structure is Ni... ni... ne + verb (e.g., Ni Paul ni Marie ne viennent). The verb is usually plural because multiple entities are involved. However, if the two subjects are mutually exclusive, the verb remains singular. When dealing with different grammatical persons, the verb agrees with the dominant person (e.g., Ni toi ni moi ne pouvons y aller).

Examples (6)

  1. Je n'ai ni frère ni sœur.

    I have neither a brother nor a sister.

    Word by Word: I (neg) have neither brother nor sister.

    Notice that the indefinite articles 'un' and 'une' are removed in this construction.

  2. Il n'aime ni le thé ni le café.

    He likes neither tea nor coffee.

    Word by Word: He (neg) likes neither the tea nor the coffee.

    Definite articles (le, la, les) are kept when using ni... ni.

  3. Ce n'est ni bon ni mauvais.

    It is neither good nor bad.

    Word by Word: It (neg) is neither good nor bad.

    You can use ni... ni to negate adjectives as well.

  4. Je n'ai ni mangé ni bu.

    I have neither eaten nor drunk.

    Word by Word: I (neg) have neither eaten nor drunk.

    In compound tenses like the passé composé, 'ne' goes before the auxiliary verb and 'ni' goes before each past participle.

  5. Ni Paul ni Marie ne sont venus.

    Neither Paul nor Marie came.

    Word by Word: Neither Paul nor Marie (neg) are come.

    When negating subjects, the verb is typically plural (sont) and the 'ne' still appears before the verb.

  6. Elle ne veut ni manger ni boire.

    She wants neither to eat nor to drink.

    Word by Word: She (neg) wants neither to eat nor to drink.

    Ni... ni can also negate infinitives (verbs in their basic form).

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping indefinite articles (un, une, des).

    Je n'ai ni un chien ni un chat.
    Je n'ai ni chien ni chat.

    After 'ni... ni', the indefinite and partitive articles are normally dropped. You can keep 'un' for emphasis (not even one), but dropping it is the usual rule.

  • Using 'pas' with 'ni'.

    Je n'aime pas ni le pain ni le riz.
    Je n'aime ni le pain ni le riz.

    In the paired 'ni ... ni' construction, 'ni' replaces 'pas', so do not add 'pas'. With a single 'ni', 'ne ... pas X ni Y' is also correct French: 'Je n'aime pas le pain ni le riz.'

  • Omitting the first 'ni'.

    Je ne bois café ni thé.
    Je ne bois ni café ni thé.

    You must place 'ni' before every item in the list, including the first one.

How It Connects

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

ne...ni...niLevel 2Neither...nor with Ne...ni...ni

Learn This First

To learn 'ne...ni...ni', you first need to be comfortable with basic French negation using 'ne'. You should also understand how to structure a simple sentence and how to use articles with nouns, as these elements are combined to list multiple negated items.

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Words in This Pattern

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