In the first quiz question of ni ni ne I noticed that the answer is

Question

n'a mangé...ni ni isn't this neither nor rather than neither of them.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Michael, In the context of the phrase, ni. . .ni. . n'a mangé, it would translate as neither of them ate. However, literally speaking yes ni . . . ni is neither. . . nor.

Answer

Bonjour Michael !

The translation of ni...ni... varies depending on sentences.
In the lesson you referred to, "ni l'un ni l'autre" literally mean "Neither one nor the other", which would sometimes be better translated in English as "Neither of them".

But I agree that it applies mostly to people, and we could prefer "neither one nor the other" when it comes (like here) to food...

I've therefore decided to update the lesson title to : Ni l'un(e) ni l'autre ne ... = Neither [one nor the other] (negation) :)

I hope that's helpful!
Merci beaucoup et à bientôt !

Answer

Bonjour Tom !
Ok, I completely agree that this example is confusing at best :)
The explanation is that here we're talking about flavours (ice cream, yoghurt...), which in French is masculine = un parfum.
Therefore, it's my humble opinion that that's why we use the masculine here, but I agree that it looks so illogical to non-French natives!
I've decided to rephrase this example, to make the antecedent clearer.
I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !

Answer

Ron, Aurélie.
Thanks for your clear and succinct answer, as usual.
Cheers Mike.

Answer

Bonjour,
I am correct then in saying; Ni l`une ni l`autre? As both fraise and  vanille are feminine? The lesson is already entitled `Ni l'un(e) ni l'autre ne...` Therefore no update is required.

Answer

I have read this thread attentively and am none the wiser as regards the fraise/vanille problème.
To quote Ron:
"
Note that l'un/l'une agrees in gender with the object it refers to.Ni l'un/e ni l'autre can also be used on its own to express neither:Tu veux fraise ou vanille? - Ni l'un ni l'autre.Do you want strawberry or vanilla? - Neither.
"
Surely since frais/vanille has already been referenced the only valid reply in this case should be "ni l'une ni l'autre"
Am I not understanding properly?

Answer

Hi Tom, 
Just stumbled over your question and I can confirm that it should be -
Ni l'une, ni l'autre ( for - ni fraise, ni vanille)
Mieux vaut tard que jamais !