nei ..., nei ...

Neither ... nor ...

Level 3

Put nei before each item to deny all of them: Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers. Lithuanian keeps the ne- on the verb as well.

How It Works

1. With nouns and other parts. nei + item, comma, nei + item, and a negated verb:

  • Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers. (I have neither a brother nor a sister.)
  • Nei Jonas, nei Ona nežino atsakymo. (Neither Jonas nor Ona knows the answer.)
  • Vakar nebuvau nei darbe, nei namie. (Yesterday I was neither at work nor at home.)

2. The genitive. Because turėti is negated, its accusative direct objects become genitive: Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers, not brolį, seserį. The repeated nei can also precede infinitives after a negated verb: Nenoriu nei valgyti, nei gerti.

3. With verbs. When nei stands before the verbs themselves, the verbs stay without ne-: Jis nei rūko, nei geria (He neither smokes nor drinks).

4. The comma. No comma comes before the first nei. A comma always comes before the second one.

5. Other nei. Nei also means than in comparisons, as in palyginimas su negu, nei, už. The positive partner of this pattern is ir ..., ir .... To say not a single one, Lithuanian uses nė.

Examples (6)

  1. Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers.

    I have neither a brother nor a sister.

    Neturiu is negated, so brolio and sesers are in the genitive.

  2. Nei Jonas, nei Ona nežino atsakymo.

    Neither Jonas nor Ona knows the answer.

    The verb nežino also takes ne-.

  3. Nenoriu nei valgyti, nei gerti.

    I don't want to eat or drink.

    Nei can join two infinitives after a negated verb.

  4. Jis nei rūko, nei geria.

    He neither smokes nor drinks.

    Here nei stands before the verbs themselves, so they take no ne-.

  5. Nemėgstu nei kavos, nei arbatos.

    I like neither coffee nor tea.

  6. Vakar nebuvau nei darbe, nei namie.

    Yesterday I was neither at work nor at home.

    Nei can join two places.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the verb without ne- when nei joins nouns.

    Turiu nei brolio, nei sesers.
    Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers.

    Nei ..., nei ... needs a negated verb when it joins nouns: neturiu.

  • Keeping the accusative after the negated verb.

    Neturiu nei brolį, nei seserį.
    Neturiu nei brolio, nei sesers.

    The accusative direct objects of turėti become genitive after neturiu: brolio, sesers.

  • Leaving out the comma before the second nei.

    Nemėgstu nei kavos nei arbatos.
    Nemėgstu nei kavos, nei arbatos.

    When nei is repeated, a comma comes before the second nei.

How It Connects

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

nei ..., nei ...Level 3Neither ... nor ...

Learn This First

Nei ..., nei ... joins excluded alternatives and interacts with verbal negation.

Words in This Pattern