- I don’t want neither chocolate nor crisps.
- I don’t want either chocolate or crisps.
- I don’t want both chocolate and crisps.
Please correct the above.
Thanks.
I want neither chocolate nor crisps.
I don’t want either chocolate or crisps.
3. is okay. In most cases you would not need to use ‘both’, but it is not wrong if you wish to emphasise the fact.
Fathima, I really wonder how you posted this sentence on the forum for correction. You know that the correlatives ‘neither’ & ‘nor’ are already negative and that with another negator the sentence will lose its meaning intended. Didn’t you actually remember this? I think it was included inadvertently.
I wouldn’t bother to do this if you didn’t pounce on the mistakes made by others, but here’s a more appropriate way of writing that, which does not presume to tell someone else what they do or don’t know:
Allifathima, I wonder why you posted this sentence for correction. I’m sure you already know that the correlatives ‘neither’ and ‘nor’ are negative and that the intended meaning will be lost if you add another negator. I suppose that you must have forgotten this, or possibly you included the sentence inadvertently.
You don’t have to bother. The addressee does understand the tone much, much better. It’s not as imposing or irritating a tone as is with the nauseating words arrogantly used in your scribbling.
You are unable to distinguish between ‘already negative’ and ‘already know’ in this context. There is appropriateness in my using ‘how’ (rather than ‘why’), culturally. And my use of the word ‘inadvertently’ reveals my attitude as ‘not nagging’. You are blind to all this.
Do never ever be under the enjoyable illusion that you are omniscient. Nobody is infallible. Empty vessels (or vessels with little/a little knowledge, these days) would make more noise. Be humble, not haughty. Be not penny wise, and pound foolish.
No personal confrontation is desirable on the forum. Avoid washing the dirty linen in public. I have already warned you adequately, including privately.
Do unto others as you …!
Ah well, I tried to help.
Any impartial observer considering the tone of the two emails above will be able to see quite clearly who is being confrontational, so this ends the conversation for me.
As I explained, I haven’t bothered to read your private message. If you check your sentbox you will see that it is still sitting there unread. I have nothing to say to you privately that I am unwilling to say publicly because I do not stoop to personal insult.
That’s good.