Nick asked: "Why is "Non, il n'a pas vu Paul ou Sam" incorrect?"
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Nick asked: "Why is "Non, il n'a pas vu Paul ou Sam" incorrect?"
Isn't there a subtle difference between "No, he hasn't seen Paul or Sam" vs "No, he has seen neither Paul nor Sam"?
This question relates to:French lesson "Ne ... ni ... ni = Neither ... nor (French Negations)"
Asked 8 years ago
Bonjour Nick !
I agree that in English you could indeed use either "No, he hasn't seen Paul or Sam" or "No, he has seen neither Paul nor Sam" with very little alteration of meaning, however in French, the correct way to express this idea of "multiple negated elements" is by using "ni...ni...".
I hope that's helpful!
Merci et à bientôt !
Kwiziq community member
Shouldn't you change the english sentence into "No, he hasn't seen neither Paul nor Sam"? I made the same "error" answering because I didn't feel I need "ni... ni..." here.
Aurélie asked:
Nick asked: "Why is "Non, il n'a pas vu Paul ou Sam" incorrect?"
Isn't there a subtle difference between "No, he hasn't seen Paul or Sam" vs "No, he has seen neither Paul nor Sam"?
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Ask a question
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level