Nor

The conjunction nor is mainly used in the correlative pair, neither-nor.

• He neither spends his money nor donates it.
• I like neither apples nor peaches.
• I know neither Sam nor his wife.
• He is neither educated nor hard working.
• She neither raised her head nor spoke a word.
• She is neither English nor French.

Nor can also mean ‘also not’.

• ‘I can’t speak English.’ ‘Nor can I.’ (Note that we use the inverted word order in this construction.
• She didn’t come, nor did her mother.
• She didn’t pass the test, nor did I.
• Rahul cannot swim, nor can Madhav.

We can use neither instead of nor in this construction.

• He cannot swim, neither can I. / He cannot swim, nor can I.

See also: Nor as a conjunction

Fill in the blanks with either, neither or nor.

1. Meera was not at the party, …………………….. was Maya.

2. She is neither beautiful ……………………….. intelligent.

3. She can …………………… dance ……………….. sing.

4. She ………………….. came ………………… wrote.

5. ………………………… Rahul ………………………. his sister can speak English.

6. I don’t like him, …………………… does my mother.

Answers

1. nor/neither, 2. nor, 3. neither, nor, 4. neither, nor, 5. Neither, nor, 6. nor/neither