what's the difference between "non plus" and "ni" they both seem to mean neither and nor

Milton H.A1Kwiziq community member

what's the difference between "non plus" and "ni" they both seem to mean neither and nor

Asked 7 years ago
GruffNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Hi Milton - good question. Here's how ne... ni... is used: Ne ... ni ... ni = Neither ... nor (French Negations)">Ne ... ni ... ni = Neither ... nor (French Negations)">Ne ... ni ... ni = Neither ... nor (French Negations)">Ne ... ni ... ni = Neither ... nor (French Negations)

This construct is used when you have a 'neither X nor Y (nor Z)' list of things, whereas 'non plus' appears after one person or thing.
sue c.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
ni ...... ni is where in English you would use neither... nor. Non plus is used for example if someone says I am not cold you could say -me neither, or neither am I . It will follow a phrase in the negative as in English. If someone says I am hot you would say so am I or me too, and not neither.
Milton H.A1Kwiziq community member
Thank you very much Gruff and Sue. I get it now. You can say "je n'aime ni le fromage ni le lait" with the ni....ni construction, and with non plus when someone says "je n'aime le fromage" you can say "non plus".
Apumarode T.A2Kwiziq community member
You mean "Je n'aime pas le fromage"?

what's the difference between "non plus" and "ni" they both seem to mean neither and nor

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