Note that l'un/l'une agrees in gender with the object it refers to.
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
James H.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Note that l'un/l'une agrees in gender with the object it refers to.
Tu veux fraise ou vanille? - Ni l'un ni l'autre. I note that both `fraise` and `vanilla` are feminine, therefore should the reply not be Ni l`une ni l`autre?
This question relates to:French lesson "Ni l'un(e) ni l'autre ne ... = Neither (one nor the other) (French Negations)"
Asked 7 years ago
Hi,
The actual question is " Quel parfum tu veux ? vanille ou fraise? "
Answer: " Ni l'un, ni l'autre", as it agrees with parfum which is masculine.
Hope you all read this...
Ron T. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour James,
I think that you are correct because «fraise» is definitely a feminin noun. This is one that Aurélie needs to reply to as there could be a grammaire rule that I am unaware of.
Note that l'un/l'une agrees in gender with the object it refers to.
Tu veux fraise ou vanille? - Ni l'un ni l'autre.
Do you want strawberry or vanilla? - Neither.
Bonne chance !
Andy N.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Really interesting.
I can't say for sure but I do know that "ni l'un ni l'autre" is often a fixed expression in French.
I also notice that in the examples given, that agreement is shown in relation to an aforementioned masculine or feminine person, and is perhaps not required (or maybe it just gets forgotten) when relating to the gender of an object. I suspect it would apply to animals but perhaps not with asexual nouns (which still technically have a grammatical gender of course).
Susan M.Kwiziq community member
Bonjour Ron,
Did Aurélie ever respond to this question? The lesson hasn't been changed to "Ni l'une ni l'autre" to respond to the "fraise ou vanille" question.
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Ask a question
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level