In English, if you have two alternatives to choose from, then you can construct a sentence using 'either... or'. If you want to negate those possibilities, then you instead use 'neither... nor.'
For example, He will eat either the apple or the banana. He will eat neither the apple nor the banana.
In French, if you wanted to recreate these sentences, you might be surprised to see the same words used more than once.
Either, or
You might be familiar with the word soit as the third-person singular subjunctive form of the verb être (to be).
Soit is also used to give a set of options.
Unlike English, French has one word (soit) that means both 'either' and 'or'. As such, you do not need to add the word ou (or).
For example, "He will eat either the apple or the banana" becomes Il mangera soit la pomme, soit la banane.
If you already know what the options are, then you can say soit l'un soit l'autre (either one or the other).
There are some other ways to offer options in French. If you want to cut out the 'either, or', then you can just say "He will eat the apple or the banana" (Il mangera la pomme ou la banane). In this case, you would not need to use soit.
Neither, nor
French also has one word for both 'neither' and 'nor': the negation ni. To construct a sentence using 'neither, nor', you use the structure ne, ni, ni.
"He will eat neither the apple nor the banana" becomes Il ne mangera ni la pomme ni la banane.
Either and neither
Here's where things get a bit more confusing, but luckily, French only has one phrase to learn.
If you want to use either or neither to mean 'also not', then use non plus in French.
For example, imagine two people are speaking. The first person says, "I don't want to go to the theatre", and the second responds, "Neither do I". In French, this becomes - Je ne veux pas aller au théâtre. - Moi non plus.
Here's another example. The first person says, "I hate pizza", and the second responds. "I don't like it either". In French, this becomes - Je déteste la pizza - Je n'aime pas ça non plus.
On the other hand, if you want to use neither to mean 'none of the above', this translates as aucun de in French. For instance, 'Neither of my parents attended university' translates as Aucun de mes parents n'a fait d'études universitaires.
And if you use either to mean 'both, or all of the above', then the way you translate this depends on the sentence. Most of the time, you can translate as l'un ou l'autre.
For example, if a taxi driver asks you about the fastest route to your home, you might say "You can take either exit. They are the same distance".
To translate, you could say, Vous pouvez prendre l'une ou l'autre sortie. Elles sont à la même distance. You could also just say Les deux sorties sont à la même distance.
Grammar tips
From agreeing adjectives to the subjunctive, French grammar can be fiendishly - some claim deliberately - complicated and almost all French learners have at one point despaired over ever getting it right.
People learn languages in different ways - some people prefer to just throw themselves into chatting, others like to have a textbook and some exercises. But the formal and structured nature of the French language means that if you want to become fluent - and if you need written French - then you are going to have to learn some grammar.
That's the purpose of our weekly series of French grammar tips and tricks - and you can also sign up to receive them as a newsletter.
The tips are not intended as a substitute for formal classes or sweating over those verb tables (sadly, those are necessary for most people), but may be of some help to language learners.
They come from our own experiences of living and working in France, and as with our popular French Word of the Day feature, we've tried to focus on examples that will be useful in everyday life.
Read more French grammar tips.
- French grammar tips: Avoir versus être
- French grammar tips: When to use 'grand' and 'gros'
- French grammar tips: The difference between c'est and il est
- French grammar tip: How to use 'gens' and 'personnes'
- French grammar tips: Mastering prepositions of place
- French grammar tips: All of the uses of the word 'droit'
- French grammar tips: Look out for the accent
- French grammar tips: Cheat the future
- Guessing the gender of nouns
- The cheat's guide to the subjunctive
- Understanding French place names
- Getting the date and time right
- Pay attention to your French friend's English mistakes
Which French grammar rules do you find most confusing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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