Usage of "nor" versus "or"
I recently wrote the following sentence in a Scientific journal: The calculations did not take into account the use of the full ordinal Likert scale in the analyses, nor the fact that all patients received all products in a crossover design.
The "nor" in this sentence was corrected to "or" by the editor. However, if the "second part of the negative is a verb phrase - not a verb clause - then you can choose to use "nor" or "or" (according to American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 320). The question then remains if "take into account" is a verb phrase or a verb clause.
So my question is: Can the use of "nor" in the above sentence be correct, and if not, why not?
Top answer
I would have marked it for a change to "or", but I can see what American Heritage means, and if the writer insisted, I would back off. My problem with it is that "nor" is not necessary logically and therefore calls attention to itself, and with it you have "did not verb X nor Y", which sounds like a double negative or something. " To me, your "nor" sounds like an unconscious little slip in that direction.
- I would have marked it for a change to "or", but I can see what American Heritage means, and if the writer insisted, I would back off.
- My problem with it is that "nor" is not necessary logically and therefore calls attention to itself, and with it you have "did not verb X nor Y", which sounds like a double negative or something.
- " To me, your "nor" sounds like an unconscious little slip in that direction.
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I would have marked it for a change to "or", but I can see what American Heritage means, and if the writer insisted, I would back off. My problem with it is that "nor" is not necessary logically and therefore calls attention to itself, and with it you have "did not verb X nor Y", which sounds like a double negative or something. "Nor" would be right if it was "The calculations di
0totlandsvI recently wrote the following sentence in a Scientific journal: The calculations did not take into account the use of the full ordinal Likert scale in the analyses, nor the fact that all patients received all products in a crossover design.
On an unrelated point, the part before the comma seems confusing to me. Are the "calculations" and the "anal
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