Double Conjunctions: soit...soit, ni...ni
Double Conjunctions: soit...soit, ni...ni
English pairs 'either...or' and 'neither...nor' in much the same structural way French pairs soit...soit and ni...ni — a close match overall. The one real trap: French ni...ni still requires the separate negation particle ne before the verb, whereas English 'neither...nor' already carries its own negation and needs no extra negative word at all.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
soit...soit = 'either...or'
Tu peux choisir soit le poisson soit la viande.
You can choose either the fish or the meat.
soit...soit presents two alternatives, structurally parallel to English 'either...or' — no extra negation is involved, and the pairing translates almost word for word.
ni...ni = 'neither...nor' — still needs ne
Je n'aime ni le café ni le thé.
I like neither coffee nor tea.
Unlike ou ('or'), which needs no ne, the pairing ni...ni is a negative structure and requires ne before the verb, just like ne...pas or ne...jamais. English 'neither...nor' already carries its negation baked directly into the words themselves and adds no separate negative particle to the verb — so leaving out the ne, a natural instinct if you're thinking in English, produces an ungrammatical French sentence. Always check for ne whenever ni...ni appears.
The indefinite article usually drops after ni
Je n'ai ni frère ni sœur.
I have neither brother nor sister.
As with other negations, the indefinite article (un/une) is typically dropped after ni before a noun — no un/une the way an affirmative sentence would have it (j'ai un frère). English doesn't drop any article here at all ('neither a brother nor a sister' would actually sound odd; English drops the article too in this idiom, so this case happens to align, but don't assume it always will with other negations).
Bonus: non seulement...mais aussi
Non seulement il est intelligent, mais aussi très gentil.
Not only is he intelligent, but he's also very kind.
A closely related double-conjunction pattern, non seulement...mais aussi mirrors English 'not only...but also' directly, including the optional subject-verb inversion after 'not only' that some English speakers also use for emphasis.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| soit...soit | swah...swah | either...or |
| ni...ni | nee...nee | neither...nor |
| ou bien | oo byan | or else |
| non seulement...mais aussi | nohn suhl-mahn...meh oh-SEE | not only...but also |
| tantôt...tantôt | tahn-TOH...tahn-TOH | sometimes...sometimes |