varken...eller

Neither...nor

Level 2

'Varken...eller' is the Swedish equivalent of 'neither...nor'. It's a fixed pair used to negate two things at once.

How It Works

The structure varken A eller B is used to negate two parallel elements. These elements can be nouns, adjectives, verbs, or even clauses.

Negation and Usage
The neutral model is varken ... eller without an additional inte: Jag gillar varken kaffe eller te. Språkrådet also accepts Jag gillar inte varken kaffe eller te in contemporary usage. Some readers still object to this form under the older rule, so the version without inte is a useful broadly accepted model.

Parallel Structure
The items connected by 'varken...eller' should be of the same grammatical type:

  • Nouns: Han dricker varken kaffe eller te. (He drinks neither coffee nor tea.)
  • Adjectives: Boken var varken lång eller tråkig. (The book was neither long nor boring.)
  • Verbs: Jag kan varken sjunga eller dansa. (I can neither sing nor dance.)

Examples (5)

  1. Jag talar varken tyska eller franska.

    I speak neither German nor French.

    Word by Word: I speak neither German nor French.

  2. Vädret är varken varmt eller soligt idag.

    The weather is neither warm nor sunny today.

    Word by Word: The weather is neither warm nor sunny today.

  3. Hon vill varken äta eller sova.

    She wants to neither eat nor sleep.

    Word by Word: She wants neither eat nor sleep.

  4. Vi såg varken älgar eller rådjur i skogen.

    We saw neither moose nor deer in the forest.

    Word by Word: We saw neither moose nor deer in the forest.

  5. Han är varken i köket eller i vardagsrummet.

    He is neither in the kitchen nor in the living room.

    Word by Word: He is neither in the kitchen nor in the living room.

Common Mistakes

  • Using och instead of eller in the paired construction.

    Jag gillar varken kaffe och te.
    Jag gillar varken kaffe eller te.

    Use the pair varken ... eller to exclude both alternatives. An added inte is not automatically wrong in contemporary Swedish; do not confuse that usage question with choosing the conjunction.

How It Connects

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

varken...ellerLevel 2Neither...nor

Learn This First

To understand 'varken...eller' (neither...nor), you first need to be familiar with the basic conjunction 'eller' (or) and the concept of negation. It is also helpful to understand the positive correlative structure 'antingen...eller' (either...or), as 'varken...eller' follows the same grammatical rules but in a negative context.

Words in This Pattern

varkeneller