Help with question
Hi, there

Could you help me with a few questions?

1) I've been told that you can use "not...nor" in the following sentences. My question is: is "or" wrong?

"It is not easy nor logical,or evident, to recognize that one of the irreversible effects of globalization is the mixture of cultures.

"It is not easy or logical, or evident, to recognize that one of..."

"She is not single, nor a mom" - she is not single or a mom"?

2) And would you say "The creation of political parties must observe the following principles: 1. rendering of accounts to the Electoral Court" or (...) accountability/accounting to the Electoral Court"?

Please

Thank you very much

Question

Help with question
Hi, there

Could you help me with a few questions?

1) I've been told that you can use "not...nor" in the following sentences. My question is: is "or" wrong?

"It is not easy nor logical,or evident, to recognize that one of the irreversible  effects of globalization is the mixture of cultures.

"It is not easy or logical, or evident, to recognize that one of..."

"She is not single, nor a mom" -> she is not single or a mom"?

2) And would you say  "The creation of political parties must observe the following principles: 1. rendering of accounts to the Electoral Court" or (...) accountability/accounting to the Electoral Court"?

Please

Thank you very much

Answer

Hello!

Grammatically speaking, you should use "not...nor" - although conversationally many people would also say "or" - this is not correct but would still make sense. 
Alternatively you could use "neither...nor" - she is neither single nor a mom.  This sounds the best!

Rendering of accounts to the Electoral Court is fine, and Accountability to the Electoral Court is also fine!

I would love to help you improve more, my trial rate is $2 an hour so please get in touch if you're interested!

Best wishes, 
Ursula

Answer

Hello Gabriel,

It is fine to use "not...nor".  
"neither...nor" is an alternative to "not...nor" and sounds better and more fluent than "not...nor".

But strictly speaking, both are correct.

Be careful: the word is "neither" and not "never" !!

It is confusing to understand this, I know! 
If you would like to schedule a Skype, then I would love to help you as I am looking for new students.  
I am free most days, in the afternoon or evenings and all day at weekends.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Ursula

Answer

Differences between Nor and Or?
• Or talks about alternatives and goes with positive
• Nor goes with negatives
• Positive sentences require or
• Negative sentences make use of not
• Nor is mostly used after neither in a sentence

"Nor" goes with "neither" and usually follows "neither" when both are used in a single sentence. Example: I neither like chocolate nor ice-cream. 
If you wish to add another item among your dislikes, you need to use the word ‘nor’ a second time.
Remember that "either" is always paired with "or", and "neither" is always paired with "nor". However you can also express dislike using "or" in a sentence like this: I don't like cooking or cleaning.

Answers · 4

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