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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Neither, nor (using more than 2 terms), or
Hello to all, this is my first time in this forum.
I've searched for posts relating to the usage of nor. Something interesting I've learnt is that both "do not A or B" and "do not A nor B" are correct. I didn't know that the latter was corect before this.
I have questions though.
Regarding nor and or:
Which of the following are correct:
[1]"do not A or B or C"
[2]"do not A, B or C"
[3]"do not A nor B nor C"
[4]"do not A, B nor C"
The meaning of the sentence is that it is not the case that one As and not the case that one Bs and not the case that one Cs. I believe that [1] and [2] are correct and mean the same thing. I'm not sure about [3] and [4].
Regarding or:
Read first: I could be wrong in my understanding here, so please correct and forgive me if I am.
Being more mathematical than englishy (is there such a word?), I find "or" and "and" confusing sometimes. What I mean is that when one says "you do not eat or sleep" it means that you do not eat and you do not sleep (sorry for using the word "and" here and later even though I'm talking about this word itself. I can't think of any other way, but I suppose you can get what I mean?), but it need not be together. When one says "you do not eat and sleep" it means that you do not eat and sleep together. In mathematics, "you do not eat or sleep" means either you do not eat, or you do not sleep, or you do not eat and sleep. "You do not eat and sleep" in mathematics means you do not eat and you do not sleep. Hmm, I might not have explained myself clearly here. I'm confused.
The thing is that in mathematics, "nor" means "exclusive or". In english, does "nor" just mean "or" but used only with a negation (do not, neither) at the beginning? Also, can "nor" and "or" be mixed?
Anyway I'm not too sure what's the confusing thing I said I was confused over, since I just use [1] or [2] most of the time. But I guess you might be able to provide me with explanations to make the usage of "or" and "nor" clearer.
Thanks for reading.
p.s. I wonder if smileys are frown upon in this forum but I used one anyway.
I've searched for posts relating to the usage of nor. Something interesting I've learnt is that both "do not A or B" and "do not A nor B" are correct. I didn't know that the latter was corect before this.
I have questions though.
Regarding nor and or:
Which of the following are correct:
[1]"do not A or B or C"
[2]"do not A, B or C"
[3]"do not A nor B nor C"
[4]"do not A, B nor C"
The meaning of the sentence is that it is not the case that one As and not the case that one Bs and not the case that one Cs. I believe that [1] and [2] are correct and mean the same thing. I'm not sure about [3] and [4].
Regarding or:
Read first: I could be wrong in my understanding here, so please correct and forgive me if I am.
Being more mathematical than englishy (is there such a word?), I find "or" and "and" confusing sometimes. What I mean is that when one says "you do not eat or sleep" it means that you do not eat and you do not sleep (sorry for using the word "and" here and later even though I'm talking about this word itself. I can't think of any other way, but I suppose you can get what I mean?), but it need not be together. When one says "you do not eat and sleep" it means that you do not eat and sleep together. In mathematics, "you do not eat or sleep" means either you do not eat, or you do not sleep, or you do not eat and sleep. "You do not eat and sleep" in mathematics means you do not eat and you do not sleep. Hmm, I might not have explained myself clearly here. I'm confused.
The thing is that in mathematics, "nor" means "exclusive or". In english, does "nor" just mean "or" but used only with a negation (do not, neither) at the beginning? Also, can "nor" and "or" be mixed?
Anyway I'm not too sure what's the confusing thing I said I was confused over, since I just use [1] or [2] most of the time. But I guess you might be able to provide me with explanations to make the usage of "or" and "nor" clearer.
Thanks for reading.
p.s. I wonder if smileys are frown upon in this forum but I used one anyway.
Top answer
Hi, chunkit. Welcome to English Forums. I can't do justice to your subject, but maybe I can hold the fort.
- Hi, chunkit.
- Welcome to English Forums.
- I can't do justice to your subject, but maybe I can hold the fort.
- I seem to remember convincing myself that three work the same as two.
- As a septigenarian native speaker I was struggling with two a few months ago.
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2 Answers
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Hi, chunkit. Welcome to English Forums. I can't do justice to your subject, but maybe I can hold the fort.
I seem to remember convincing myself that three work the same as two.
As a septigenarian native speaker I was struggling with two a few months ago. Someone had written, "I'm not a native nor a teacher," and it really stuck in my craw. I thought it should be "or," or els
I seem to remember convincing myself that three work the same as two.
As a septigenarian native speaker I was struggling with two a few months ago. Someone had written, "I'm not a native nor a teacher," and it really stuck in my craw. I thought it should be "or," or els
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chunkit The thing is that in mathematics, "nor" means "exclusive or". In english, does "nor" just mean "or" but used only with a negation (do not, neither) at the beginning? Also, can "nor" and "or" be mixed?Right at the moment, my opinion is that within the specific structure you've set up, "nor" just means "or," in the sense that any "nor" may be replaced
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