Hi.
I was studying grammar when this question came up on my mind. Every example that I see is something like:
Example: "Neither John, nor Andrew were playing in the yard".
Given that example, can I use it with more than two subjects?
Example: "Neither John, nor Andrew, nor Peter were playing in the yard".
Thanks.
Mr Lance has raised an interesting issue about the use of subject/verb agreement in "neither/nor" constructions. I would respectfully disagree with:
"Neither the kittens nor the dog is... hungry"
There are at least three individual things which make up the subject and so notionally, the verb should be plural - here "are". Also, "is" feels strange to my ear.
You could also say:
"The kittens are not hungry and nor is the dog" [Now we also bump into subject/verb inversion!]
Yes, you can use it with more than two subjects.
Eg:
"I like neither John nor Peter nor Judy."
"I neither like John nor Peter nor Judy.
*Notice that you have a choice of placing "like" before "neither" or vice versa
Do take note that you must repeat "nor" after each subject you introduce ( NEITHER X NOR Y NOR Z)
Eg:
"We saw neither the plaza nor the coffee shop nor the train station. (Correct)
"We saw neither the plaza, the coffee shop nor the train station. (Wrong)
*Notice that "neither" is only used once, regardless of the number of times you repeat "nor"
I personally like to group singular nouns and plural nouns in a sentence if the nouns are similar.
Example: "Neither the boy nor the girls are .." instead of writing "Neither the boy nor girl 1 nor girl 2.."
* Notice that the choice of verb depends on the noun after "nor"
Eg:
Neither the dog nor the kittens are...
Neither the kittens nor the dog is...
Lastly, I can simply write: None of the boys was playing in the yard. / John, Andrew and Peter were not playing in the yard.
Hope this helps.
Cheers, Lance