'Nor' is both a conjunction and an adverb. In this lesson, we will learn how to discuss and use it.

Functions of 'Nor'

'Nor' as a Conjunction

Use

'Nor' is commonly used as subordinating conjunction and it accompanies 'neither' most of the time. We use it to negate two ideas in a sentence. Let us learn all about it below:

When we want to introduce the second or the last of some negative possibilities. Take a look:

Example

Neither I nor my fiancé is ready to plan our future life.

Here, it is indicating a negative possibility.

Neither Sarah nor her sister is willing to go to the village.

When we want to start a negative statement or simply agree with someone in a negative sense, we use 'nor'. Take a look below:

A:

I don't seem to follow what he's saying.

B:

Nor do I.

Warning!

Please note that when we want to begin a statement with 'nor', we must change the places of the verb and the subject. Check out the following example:

A:

I haven't practiced this week.

B:

Nor have I.

Position in a Sentence

When we have two negative ideas, we use 'nor' before the second word or phrase to show that it is negative. Look below:

Example

Neither you nor mom can contact me again.

Here, two words have been negated.

Neither telling me nor apologizing to her is going to change the result, Sally.

Here, 'nor' has been used before a phrase.

When we want to start a sentence with 'nor', we put it at the beginning of the sentence. Take a look:

A:

I don't care about her.

B:

Nor does she.

'Nor' as an Adverb

If you are interested in reading English Literature, it might be of use to you to know that 'nor' functions as an adverb in some religious texts and means neither. Take a look:

Example

'Nor God nor demon can undo the done.'

This is from the Bible.

Comments

(5)
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Grammar Enthusiast
Dec 2024
The first example sentence above is grammatically incorrect: "Neither me nor my fiancé are ready to plan our future life." In this sentence, "neither me nor my fiancé" is a compound subject. Therefore, it should be "neither I nor my fiancé."
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Langeek
Dec 2024
Thanks for the feedback! We edited the article.
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olcay akgün
Mar 2024
your explanations and samples are pretty helpful wants to contact
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Richard Warner
Nov 2023
This sentence bothers me: ""Imminent threat does not require any actual physical assault, nor an attempted lethal assault." I want to see a verb in the second part (i.e., "nor does it require an attempted lethal assault."). A bit clumsy but it sounds better to me. Or just replace the word nor with "or." Is there any grammatical rule that applies to this?
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Langeek
Nov 2023
It does not need a verb, this as a whole is a long noun phrase: "any actual physical assault, nor an attempted lethal assault" You can make these types of phrases (called coordinated phrases) using "coordinating conjunctions" like "and", "or", etc. The explination on why it does not sound natural is a little bit too long, but it has to do with ambiguity.
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