Ni l'un(e) ni l'autre ne... means neither one nor the other or neither (of them).
Look at these examples:
J'ai appelé Paul et Hadrien, mais ni l'un ni l'autre n'a répondu.
I called Paul and Hadrien, but neither one nor the other answered
Qu'en est-il de Julien et Sophie? - Ni l'un ni l'autre ne peut venir.
What about Julien and Sophie? - Neither one nor the other can come
Mes filles sont bonnes en maths, mais ni l'une ni l'autre n'est bonne en français.
My daughters are good in maths, but neither [one nor the other] is good in French.
Note that l'un/l'une agrees in gender with the object it refers to.
Note also that the verb following is conjugated as il/elle.
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.
Tu aimes Fiona ou Pauline? - Ni l'une ni l'autre.
Do you love Fiona or Pauline? - Neither.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
J'ai appelé Paul et Hadrien, mais ni l'un ni l'autre n'a répondu.
I called Paul and Hadrien, but neither one nor the other answered
Mes filles sont bonnes en maths, mais ni l'une ni l'autre n'est bonne en français.
My daughters are good in maths, but neither [one nor the other] is good in French.
Tu aimes Fiona ou Pauline? - Ni l'une ni l'autre.
Do you love Fiona or Pauline? - Neither.
Tu veux fraise ou vanille? - Ni l'un ni l'autre.
Do you want strawberry or vanilla? - Neither.
Qu'en est-il de Julien et Sophie? - Ni l'un ni l'autre ne peut venir.
What about Julien and Sophie? - Neither one nor the other can come
Loading your KwizQ&A
Lanny
Kwiziq community member
28/07/17
Ron
Kwiziq community member
24/06/17
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
Kwiziq community member
25/06/17
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
Kwiziq community member
2/11/17
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.
Ron
Kwiziq community member
24/06/17
I do believe you are correct as «fraise» is a feminine noun. Perhaps this is one that Aurélie needs to respond to in case there is a grammar rule that I am unaware of that would make this an exception.
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.
Bonne chance !
James
Kwiziq community member
25/06/17
I would assume that if one of the subjects had been masculine, then it would be Ni l`un..., but both are feminine.
Ron
Kwiziq community member
17/06/17
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.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/06/17
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 !
Michael
Kwiziq community member
20/06/17
Thanks for your clear and succinct answer, as usual.
Cheers Mike.
James
Kwiziq community member
9/07/17
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.
diana
Kwiziq community member
15/01/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
16/01/17
Are you talking about "qu'en est-il" or "ni l'un ni l'autre" ?
diana
Kwiziq community member
16/01/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
17/01/17
"Qu'en est-il ?" literally means "What is of it?".
When used with "de", as such: "Qu'en est-il de ... ?" , it means "What is it of ...? / What about ...?".
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
diana
Kwiziq community member
17/01/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
21/11/16
Could you please give me a specific example of what you mean, and I'd be happy to look into it for you :)
helen
Kwiziq community member
30 January 2018
4 replies
Can you use aucun/aucune to shorten these sentences?
Especially, if you are saing "neither". Could you use aucun/aucune with "ne" in front fo the verb: J'ai appelé Paul et Hadrien, mais aucun (or personne) n'a répondu." (I'm thinking now that aucun is about things not people? So, what about personne?)
Chris
Kwiziq community member
31 January 2018
31/01/18
You can say either: "aucun n'a répondu" or "personne n'a répondu".
They mean about the same thing with a slight difference in connotation:
"aucun" seems to imply a known group of people of which nobody replied. "personne" is simply "nobody".
Comparing it to English, it seems to me that "aucun" is similar to "none" and "personne" to "nobody".
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
31 January 2018
31/01/18
Bonjour Helen !
To complete Chris's answer, here is a link to our related lessons:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/how-to-say-none-ne-aucun-e-negative-expressions
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/aucun-e-ne-none-of-them
Bonne journée !
helen
Kwiziq community member
30 January 2018
30/01/18
helen
Kwiziq community member
31 January 2018
31/01/18
Thank you both!! Very helpful. Somehow I can remember aucun(e) more easily!