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- "Lui non mangia né pollo né p…
55 Comments
Neither and nor are options for nè. I don't see what I can't say "He does not eat neither chicken nor fish"
Because you either say 'He eats neither chicken nor fish' OR you say 'He does not eat either chicken or fish' The either/or is used when you negate the main verb, but if you don't negate the main verb you have to put the negative in some other way, hence neither/nor. You can say 'He eats either chicken or fish' but that means exactly what it says. But 'He does not eat neither chicken nor fish' smacks of the double negative which works in some languages, but not in English.
Exactly! having the same problem here! I'm getting angry at the computer! LOL
So if non marks the sentence as negative, what happens if we don't have non? And is it then impossible to create double negatives in Italian?
Why is the 'non' here? If the sentence is already saying 'neither' and 'nor' why does 'non' need to be there?
What to English speakers may strike as double negative is actually the way this sort of sentence works in Italian or Spanish. The use of 'non' is essential.
I answered 'he doesn't eat chicken or fish' and it was correct, so does that mean you could say in Italian 'Lui non mangia pollo o pesce'? Or is 'né' necessary to get the meaning across?
Respect to whomever put that sentence together. I got it right, but I must admit it was a bit of a hit and hope in the end, lol. What's the betting I won't be so lucky next time :D
EDIT: Maybe an English for English speakers would be a good idea :-)
I wrote, "He eats neither fish nor fowl" but was marked down. Come on Duolingo - I thought I was being quite creative ;)
Maybe if you'd put neither fowl nor fish. Or was it in a different order in the question you got?
Pollo is the same for Spanish and Italian for chicken, just pronounced differently. The word fowl would totally be different because that's just a broader term for birds.
e == and, example/esempio: forchette e cucchiaio // fork and spoon
é == to be, lui/lei/Lei form (singular) of essere, example/esempio: é dolce // it is sweet
Double negatives are incorrect in English, even if they are widely used. The 2nd negative, nor, cancels out the first. Think arithmatic.. You are saying it is not two things, not this one or that one.
97
You are correct that double negatives are incorrect in English. "Neither... nor...", however, is an exception because both words are needed to complete the phrase. It is completely conventional and established English usage and in no way incorrect. You will find it in any grammar book.
Yes, that is wrong. In English you either say "He does not eat either chicken or fish" OR "He eats neither chicken nor fish." But you don't mix and match.
You would be using a double negative. The 'does not' is unnecessary for 'neither' is already negative.
- 662
I answered exactly the way they intended it and i got a wrong answer. And it was correct to the letter, checked 3 times (it was Type what you hear kind of question). Anyone had the same problem?
There is no word for 'neither' in the sentence. It translates as He does not eat neither chicken neither fish.
i wrote, 'he does not eat neither chicken nor fish' and DL marked it as wrong. Would someone please explain to me why this is wrong?
- 97
Hi Maria, I think it's because there is a double negative in your sentence ("doesn't" + "neither...nor"). It should be: "he eats neither chicken nor fish" or "he doesn't eat chicken or fish"
The other option:
"he doesn't eat either chicken or fish"
sounds strange to me. I would tend to use "either... or..." in a positive sentence, although I'm not sure whether this is a rule:
"He eats either chicken or fish"
I'm sorry but your sentence was not clear. I do not understand what you are saying. Please read the other posts before asking, and be more clear as to what your actual issue is when you do so.
Here is where i draw the line with this sentence. I put He eats neither chicken or fish and got it wrong. Not many people say neither nor, at least me forget the n in nor
He's not eating either chicken or fish. Why is this not correct? In English this means 'he is eating neither chicken nor fish' in fact it's more used!
Because it's "he eats" not "he's eating". We haven't learned Infinitive Verbs at this point.
