371 372 neither (of): determiner 372 She hasn't got much chance of passing the exam, I don’t think. We won't be back before midnight, I don't suppose. extra negative in expressions of doubt In informal standard spoken English, a negative verb (without a negative meaning) is sometimes used after expressions of doubt or uncertainty. I shouldn't be surprised if they didn’t get married soon. (= ... if they got married soon.) I wonder whether I oughtn't to go and see a doctor - I'm feeling a bit funny. (=... whether I ought to ...) negative structures (5): ambiguous sentences In a negative structure, not can refer to different parts of a sentence. Compare: Arthur didn’t write to Sue yesterday ~ he phoned her. Arthur didn’t write to Sue yesterday - he wrote to Ann. Arthur didn’t write to Sue yesterday — he wrote this morning. ‘The exact meaning is shown in speech by stress and intonation, and even in writing it is usually clear from the context and situation, However, confusions sometimes arise. They can usually be avoided by reorganising the sentence. Compare: The car crash didn't kill him. (Did he live, or did something else kill him?) It wasn't the car crash that killed him. (Only one possible meaning.) Negative sentences with because-clauses are often ambiguous. I didn't sing because Pam was there. This sentence could mean ‘My reason for not singing was that Pam was there’ or ‘My reason for singing was not that Pam was there’. The first meaning could be shown clearly by putting the because-clause at the beginning. Because Pam was there, I didn’t sing. neither (of): determiner neither + singular noun We use neither before a singular noun to mean ‘not one and not the other (of two)’. Can you come on Monday or Tuesday? ~ I'm afraid neither day is possible. neither of + plural We use neither of before a determiner (for example the, my, these), and before a pronoun. The noun or pronoun is plural Neither of my brothers can sing. (Nov Neither-my-brothers-can-sing.) Neither of us saw it happen. After neither of + noun/pronoun, we use a singular verb in a formal style. Neither of my sisters is married. In an informal style, a plural verb is possible. Neither of my sisters are married. neither used alone We can use neither without a noun or pronoun, if the meaning is clear. > page 349373 374 neither ... nor 373 Which one do you want? ~ Neither. pronunciation In British English, neither can be pronounced both /‘natda(r)/ and /‘nizda(r)/. In American English, the usual pronunciation is /"ni:ar/. neither ... nor This structure is used to join two negative ideas. (It is the opposite of both... and.) It is usually rather formal. I neither smoke nor drink. (less formal: I don't smoke or drink.) The film was neither well made nor well acted. Sometimes more than two ideas are connected by neither ... nor. He neither smiled, spoke, nor looked at me. Neither cannot begin a complete clause in this structure. He neither smiled ... nor... (81 Nov Neither-he-smited-. . .) When singular subjects are connected by neither ... nor, the verb is normally singular, but it can be plural in a less formal style. Neither James nor Virginia was at home. (normal) Neither James nor Virginia were at home. (less formal) See also both... and (111) and either . For nor... or and nor... nor, see 370. or (175). neither, nor and not... either neither and nor We can use neither and nor as adverbs to mean ‘also not’, Neither and nor come at the beginning of a clause, and are followed by inverted word order (see 302-303): auxiliary verb + subject. I can't swim. ~Neither!nor can I. (Nov Fatso-ean't.) Ruth didn’t turn up, and neither! nor did Kate. (sor .. -and-Katedidn'ttoe:) In American English, nor is not normally used after and. not either We can also use not... either with the same meaning and normal word order. I can't swim. ~I can’t either. Ruth didn’t turn up, and Kate didn’t either. In very informal speech, me neither (and occasionally me either, especially in AmE) can be used instead of J. ..n't either. I can't swim, ~Me neither. one negative Only one negative word (not or neither) is necessary to give a negative meaning. Neither did Kate on Kate didn’t either. (Nov Neither-didn’t-Kate on Kate didn't neither) For the pronunciation of neither, see 372. For neither... nor, see 373. For other uses of either, see 174-175. For not ... or and not... nor, see 370-375. For so am I, so do I etc, see 541. For the difference between too/also and either in negative sentences, see 47. page 350