Hi teachers, I have seen these both forms what is the better one..- i like neither coffee nor tea–i neither like coffee nor tea. second form is taught in school books in my country
Hi Rasika!
If I had to choose between the two, I would personally choose the first one: “I like neither coffee nor tea.”
The main reason is that when you use words like “neither,” which pair two nouns together, you want to use it right before the nouns being paired (in this case, “coffee” and “tea.”) Otherwise, it sounds like you’re trying to pair the verb “like” with another verb. The following examples both sound good:
- I like neither coffee nor tea. (Nouns are being paired)
- I neither like nor dislike coffee. (Verbs are being paired)
Now, I’m glad you asked which one is “better” in your question. In all honesty, this word ordering will not affect how people understand you. I just find that the first sounds more natural based on the rule I gave you, although you may often find that native speakers don’t even follow or think about this rule.
Before I finish, I’ll say that I tend not to use the word “neither” that often when speaking—I think it sounds too formal and better for written English. So the MOST natural expression I would use in everyday speech would be “I don’t like coffee or tea.”
Both are technically correct. You should be able to say either one, and they have the same meaning. However, the first one sounds a bit more fluid.
I would usually say, “I like neither coffee nor tea” if I said this. By putting the word “neither” after the verb but before the object of the verb (the coffee nor tea), it makes more sense. This is because there is only one verb.
