or /nor

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New2grammar

#531502 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:09 PM

That's not the first time or/nor likely the last.

Are both correct?
Thanks

New2grammar

Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006

Veteran Member (7,670)

Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

optilang

#531512 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:20 PM

Books 1 - 10 of 439 on "not the first time nor the last".

Books 1 - 10 of 191 on "not the first time or the last"

optilang

Joined on Tue, May 13 2008

Poland

Senior Member (2,177)

OptiNative British English Speaker Wherever I may roam, I'm still a Londoner.

New2grammar

#531519 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:29 PM

Or and Nor are killing me! The following are the combinations that I know of

Either ...or
Neither...nor
isn't/doesn't/negative modal verbs ...or (why NOR is possible???)

He doesn't eat spaghetti or sushi (nor sushi??)

Please help.

New2grammar

Verbs, Negatives, Modals, Modal verbs

optilang

#531524 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:36 PM

I agree with your:

Either ...or
Neither...nor

and I follow the above. However, my GBooks search revealed the data posted earlier - which I found surprising.

Your question was, 'are both correct'? As always, I can only tell you what I use/say/write.

optilang

New2grammar

#531528 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:44 PM

So, you would say 'or' right?

Another question. Are the following choices all correct?

I don't like to travel.

1. Neither do I

2. I don't either.

3. Nor I

New2grammar

optilang

#531535 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:54 PM

New2grammar
I don't like to travel.

1. Neither do I

2. I don't either.

3. Nor I

1. Correct

2. Correct

3. I wouldn't use this in answer to the question.

optilang

Grammar

Tanit

#531539 Mon, 23 Jun 08 05:58 PM

Hi

May I quote an excerpt from M. Swan, 2005, Practical English Usage, 3rd edition. OUP. (para. 370.5 "Two negative ideas: not ... or / not ... nor") I posted some months ago in another thread?

Swan

When not refers to two or more verbs, nouns, adjectives etc, we usually join them with or.
...
However, we can use not after a pause, to separate and emphasise a second verb, adjective etc.
Our main need is not food, nor money. It is education. (More emphatic than ... food or money.)
She didn't phone that day, nor the next day. (More emphatic than ... or the next day.)
Note that neither cannot be used in this way.

In the other thread, I think I learnt that:
1. neither ... nor ... / not ... or ... are more common in everyday speech -- more "natural"
2. not ... nor ... (possibly with a comma before "nor") emphasises the second part, so it can be used as a stylistic (formal? rhetoric?) device.
I assume this could explain the number of hits returned by G.Books. Would you agree?