The word "nor" is a negative conjunction. Usually, you use " nor " in pairs with " neither ", but there are other ways to use it as well.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Use " Nor " with " Neither"
Step 1. Follow " neither " with " nor"
Usually, " nor " follows " neither " in a sentence, such as " neither A nor B' Together, these neither/nor structures form a correlative pair. This means that the information conveyed by one term is related to the information conveyed by the other term.
- Both terms can be used when discussing an action or a line of nouns.
- Example: " He neither listens to music nor plays it."
- Example: " She likes neither candy nor cake."
- Note that “neither” can also start a sentence.
- Example: “Neither Sarah nor Jim can make it to the party on Saturday.”
Step 2. Use “nor” many times in a list
Usually, the neither/nor structure is used only when making a negative connection between two things or actions. However, you can use " nor " when talking about more than two ideas, but you will need to repeat the word " nor " after each item in the list.
- Note that " neither " is used only once, no matter how much you use " nor."
- Don't just separate bullet points with commas.
- Correct example: " The store had neither peanut butter nor jelly nor bread.”
- Incorrect example: " The store had neither peanut butter, jelly, nor bread."
Step 3. Keep " neither " and " nor " parallel
The parallel structure, which applies to the neither/nor, means that the two halves of the phrase need to match each other in terms of the information conveyed.
- In other words, you cannot follow " neither " with action verbs and " nor " with nouns, or vice versa. Both mostly introduce verbs or nouns.
- Correct example: “We saw neither Gwen nor Eric during our trip.”
- Correct example: " We neither saw Gwen nor spoke to Eric during our trip."
- Incorrect example: " We neither saw Gwen nor Eric during our trip."
Step 4. Don't use " nor " with " either
"The terms “either” and “neither” are used in a similar way, but “either” for positive and “neither” for negative. Therefore, you must pair negative “neither” with negative “nor” and positive “either” with "or" is positive.
- Just as “neither” is always paired with “nor”, “either” is always paired with “or.”
- Correct example: " Neither James nor Rebecca are interested in basketball."
- A true example: "Either eat your vegetables or skip your dessert."
- Incorrect example: “I neither know the rules of the game or care to know.”
- Incorrect example: “I will either go to the library or take a nap.”
Method 2 of 3: Use " Nor " without " Neither"
Step 1. Use " nor " with other negative terms
Although " nor " is almost always used after " neither ", you can use it with other negative expressions and still form something grammatically correct.
- Example: “The final guest is not here, nor should we wait for her before we start the festivals.”
- Example: " He has never gone fishing, nor does he have any desire to learn."
Step 2. Only use “nor” once when it is used without its correlative pair
When mentioning more than two objects or actions, separate each bullet in the list with a comma and precede the last one with “nor”. Do not separate each item in the list with “nor”.
- Compare this to the use of “nor” in the correlative pair neither/nor. When used with “neither”, you must use “nor” before each bullet in the list. When used without “neither”, you should only use “nor” once.
- True example: “He has never experienced joy, sadness, nor anger with such passion before.”
- Incorrect example: “He has never experienced joy nor sadness nor anger with such passion before.”
Step 3. Only use negative “nor” to join verb phrases
There are times when the negative mood in a sentence should be joined with “or” instead of “nor”. If the second negative is an action-verb phrase then " nor " is appropriate.
- However, if the second negative is a noun, adjective, or adverb phrase, the initial negative will carry over to the rest of the sentence, making " nor " redundant. In this case, " or " should be used.
- True example: " He never comes to practice, nor does he listen to the coach."
- True example: " She does not enjoy music or art."
- Incorrect example: " She does not enjoy music nor art."
Step 4. Be careful when using only " nor"
As a negative conjunction, " nor " is almost always used to connect two thoughts or points in a sentence that has a negative tense already formed. You can technically use " nor " without using another negative term, but this is very rarely done.
- Using " nor " alone will usually appear stiff and unnatural. Since it is so rare, many people will also think that you are using " nor " incorrectly.
- Even if there is no negative element in the sentence, you will still need to make sure that the idea conveyed after “nor” connects with the idea that was conveyed earlier in a way that makes sense.
- Example: " The report was done on time, nor does it appear to contain any mistakes."
Method 3 of 3: Additional Grammar Rules
Step 1. Match the tense of the verb to the noun
Single nouns require a singular verb, while plural nouns require a plural verb. Otherwise, the two are not compatible.
For example, "Neither Marie nor Jorge is going to the movies", or "Neither cats nor dogs are allowed at the hotel"
Step 2. Pay attention to the noun that is closest to the verb (usually the noun after “nor”)
If the noun is plural, make the verb plural. If singular, make the verb singular.
- When in doubt, read the second noun and verb aloud to see if they sound correct.
- Incorrect example: " Neither they nor he are interested."
- Correct example: " Neither they nor he is interested."
- Incorrect example: " Neither he nor they are interested."
- Correct example: " Neither he nor they are interested."
Step 3. Use a comma when “nor connects the independent clause
When “nor” connects a bound clause, a comma is not required. Similarly, a comma is not needed if “nor” is used only to connect two nouns. However, when connecting independent clauses, you must precede “nor” with a comma.
- A bound clause is a sentence fragment that depends on another part of the sentence to be complete. An independent clause contains both a subject and a verb, and as a result, can be separated from the rest of the sentence and still stand alone.
- Correct example: “No one knew the answer, nor did they make a guess.”
- Incorrect example: “No one knew the answer nor did they make a guess.”
