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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Gleb! Clive! Et al. HELP!!!

I can't sleep. Someone recently posted a sentence similar to: The parties acknowledge that they NEITHER intend to enter, NOR have they entered, into a secret agreement. Shouldn't both verbs be parallel? One outstanding contributor has given me his excellent advice, and now I seek the advice of other experts. Is that sentence well-formed? If not, how can it be "cleaned up" ? I know it's pathetic that this interests me so much, but it does. Thanks for helping me get some sleep tonight.
  

Top answer

They are parallel. " It's illogical to expect that they be the same tense. One is referring to what they won't do in the future: They don't intend to enter into a secret agreement.

— BarbaraPA

  • They are parallel.
  • " It's illogical to expect that they be the same tense.
  • One is referring to what they won't do in the future: They don't intend to enter into a secret agreement.
  • One is referring to what they have not done in the past: They have not entered into a secret agreement.
  • I went there before.
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6 Answers
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They are parallel. Both can go immediately after the word "they."

It's illogical to expect that they be the same tense. One is referring to what they won't do in the future: They don't intend to enter into a secret agreement. One is referring to what they have not done in the past: They have not entered into a secret agreement.

I went there before. I will go there in the future.
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Thank you, Grammar Geek.
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GG's advice was great! Any more expert suggestions? Would it be helpful to discard the neither-nor construction for a never-nor/ no-nor pattern? Any suggestions? What do you think of: The parties acknowledge that they have never entered into a secret agreement, nor do they have any such intention.
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AnonymousWhat do you think of: The parties acknowledge that they have never entered into a secret agreement, nor do they have any such intention.

No problem.
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AnonymousThe parties acknowledge that they NEITHER intend to enter, NOR have they entered, into a secret agreement.
I suspect you may actually be reacting to the fact that the word "they" precedes the word "neither" but does not precede "nor". (The inversion is necessary after "nor", so the word "they" must be where it is.)

If that's the "lack" of par
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Thanks to everyone for his, his/her, their help!
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