neither... nor; something

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask.

No.1
Please read the following sentences:
1. It wasn't cold or wet.
2. For 10 days he did not see Tenis nor telephone her.
I think the structures of the above two sentences are the same, so I can use "nor" in sentence one or "or " in sentence two?
3. It was neither cold nor wet. (can I use "or")

No.2
Something my sister was drawing attracted my attention. I had never seen her draw anything like it before.
I can't use something because it is a negative sentence. Is that right?

No.3
Another person's good opinion of you is something to live up to, not to lean on.
I can't use everything because "everything" suggests plaural form while "opinion" suggests singular form. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask.

No.1
Please read the following sentences:
1. It wasn't cold or wet.
2. For 10 days he did not see Tenis nor telephone her.
I think the structures of the above two sentences are the same, so I can use "nor" in sentence one or "or " in sentence two? No. They are not quite the same. #1 is a straight either/or:"It wasn't [either] wet or cold". #2 is an alternative way of saying neither/nor: "He neither saw Tenis nor telephoned her".
3. It was neither cold nor wet. (can I use "or") No - neither needs nor.

No.2
Something my sister was drawing attracted my attention. I had never seen her draw anything like it before.
I can't use something because it is a negative sentence. Is that right? Never heard that before. "I never saw her draw something like it before" is just as possible.

The two sentences are linked. In the first she has drawn something unusual, and in the second "I" comments that she has not done anything like it before.

No.3
Another person's good opinion of you is something to live up to, not to lean on.
I can't use everything because "everything" suggests plural form while "opinion" suggests singular form. Is that right?
Much more important is the collocation of "something to live up to">> a criterion to match in what you do.
Using "everything" alters the meaning of the sentence >> You have to meet all expectations in what you do.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

.

[jiang]

Dear Anglika,

Thank you very much for your explanation.
I don't understand No.1. I think the sentence means "It is not cold and it is not wet". If I use "either" that means "It is not cold but it is wet" or "It is not wet but it cold". Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Originally Posted by Anglika

.

[Anglika]

No.

It is neither cold nor wet / It is not either cold or wet [they mean the same] indicate that the weather is not either of these.

"Either" cannot be used to express "but". If you wanted to say it is one but not the other, you would say: It is not cold but it is wet / It is not wet but it is cold.

[jiang]

Dear Anglika,

Thank you so much for your explanation. Now I understand it.
It's the first time that I have heard the structure "not either +adj.+or +adj." What I was taught was:
It is not cold. It is not wet, either.

Jiang

Originally Posted by Anglika

No.

It is neither cold nor wet / It is not either cold or wet [they mean the same] indicate that the weather is not either of these.

"Either" cannot be used to express "but". If you wanted to say it is one but not the other, you would say: It is not cold but it is wet / It is not wet but it is cold.