How to use 'nor'

Question

I once asked a question similar to this, but I came up with another question. I came across a website explaing how to use 'nor' to non-native speakers. The page is run by a native speaker named Luke and he seems to live in Japan.

He says, you can use 'not' and 'nor' combination in the following case: Jane will not go outside nor even use the phone. But he says that you can't use 'not' and 'nor' combination in the following case: She didn't run fast nor efficiently. The only difference between these two examples is whether you connect verbs or not. He says that if you can use not-nor combination only when you want to connect verbs.

Wondering about this, I checked PEU, and it says that when not refers to more than two verbs, nouns, and adjectives and etc, we usually join them with or. And it says the following example is not acceptable: He doesn't drink nor smoke.

I wonder which I should trust. I'd really appreciate it if you could let me hear your opinion about this.

David Hatton · Accepted Answer

It is natural to use not-nor combinations when the second element of the combination is a clause. If it's a verb phrase, it's up for debate. If it's anything else, it's not-or.

In your example, 'He doesn't drink or smoke', you could turn the second element into a clause and the 'or' would change.

He doesn't drink, nor does he smoke.

If you're not introducing a new clause as the second element, it's considered enough to use 'or' to link the two elements.

CalifJim · Answer

teacherJapanJane will not go outside nor even use the phone.

It may be worth noting that this is an example in which a new thought is added in the nor-phrase. The nor-phrase adds something that is not in parallel with the initial clause, but which "piles more on top of it", so to speak, as if to say "Not only that, but also ...".

Jane will not go outside — and as if that were not enough to show her mood/personality, listen to this:  She won't even use the phone either.

It can also be written

Jane will not go outside, nor will she even use the phone.

Here are a few more examples that I found on various websites. (I've modified some of them to keep them short and to the point.)

I don’t usually wake up at 6 a.m., nor do I like to wake up at that hour.
— I don't .... Not only that, but I don't like waking up so early.
He cannot find anyone now, nor does he expect to find anyone in the future.
— He cannot ... Not only that, but he does not expect to ....

I'll leave it to you to find similar patterns in the next two.

He has never gone fishing, nor does he have any desire to learn.
He never comes to practice, nor does he listen to the coach.

I realize this isn't a definitive answer to your question. You can think of it as an observation rather than an answer.

CJ

How to use 'nor'

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