ani ... ani

Neither ... nor

Level 3

Nemám ani čas, ani peniaze. (I have neither time nor money.) Ani Peter, ani Jana neprišli. (Neither Peter nor Jana came.)

How It Works

The pattern

  • Objects: Nepijem ani kávu, ani čaj. (I drink neither coffee nor tea.)
  • Subjects: Ani Peter, ani Jana neprišli. (Neither Peter nor Jana came.)
  • Adjectives: Film nebol ani dobrý, ani zlý. (The film was neither good nor bad.)
  • Verbs: Ani nezavolal, ani nenapísal. (He neither called nor wrote.) Each verb gets its own ne-.

Why the verb is negative

Slovak uses double negation: words like nikto, nič and ani go together with a negated verb. See Nobody, Nothing and Never and Negating Verbs With ne-.

Comma

Slovak spelling rules require a comma before the repeated ani: ani čas, ani peniaze. With three items, write: ani ..., ani ..., ani ....

A lighter version

With a negated verb, a single ani between two items also works: Nemám čas ani peniaze. The double ani ... ani gives both items more weight.

A single ani before one word means not even, see Also, Too and Not Even. The positive choice between two things is Either ... Or.

Examples (6)

  1. Nemám ani čas, ani peniaze.

    I have neither time nor money.

    Word by Word: I-don't-have neither time, nor money.

    The verb stays negative: nemám.

  2. Ani Peter, ani Jana neprišli.

    Neither Peter nor Jana came.

    Two subjects. The verb is plural and negative.

  3. Nepijem ani kávu, ani čaj.

    I drink neither coffee nor tea.

    Both objects are in the accusative.

  4. Ani nezavolal, ani nenapísal.

    He neither called nor wrote.

    Each verb is negated.

  5. Film nebol ani dobrý, ani zlý.

    The film was neither good nor bad.

    Ani ... ani with adjectives.

  6. Ani v lete, ani v zime tu nie je veľa turistov.

    There aren't many tourists here in summer or in winter.

    Ani ... ani with time phrases. The verb is negative: nie je.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a positive verb, as in English neither ... nor.

    Mám ani čas, ani peniaze.
    Nemám ani čas, ani peniaze.

    Slovak uses double negation. With ani ... ani, the verb must be negative too.

  • Leaving out the comma before the second ani.

    Nemám ani čas ani peniaze.
    Nemám ani čas, ani peniaze.

    In Slovak, a comma always goes before a repeated conjunction such as ani – ani or aj – aj.

How It Connects

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

ani ... aniLevel 3Neither ... nor

Learn This First

Before Neither ... Nor, learn Also, Too and Not Even and Nobody, Nothing and Never. ani ... ani repeats ani. The verb stays negated, as with nikto and nič.

Words in This Pattern