Breakdown of Zij draagt noch een montuur noch contactlenzen.
zij
she
een
a/an
dragen
to wear
noch
neither / nor
het montuur
the frame
de contactlens
the contact lens
Questions & Answers about Zij draagt noch een montuur noch contactlenzen.
How does the "noch ... noch" structure work? Do I need an extra negative word like "niet"?
The structure noch ... noch means "neither ... nor". Because these words are already negative, you do not use niet or geen in the sentence. Just like in English, adding another negative word would create an incorrect double negative.
Why does the sentence use "montuur" instead of just saying "bril" (glasses)?
A montuur specifically refers to the "frame" of the glasses. While a bril is the entire pair of glasses, using montuur here creates a direct physical contrast with contactlenzen, which are just lenses without any frame.
How can I tell if "montuur" is a "de" word or a "het" word from this sentence?
You actually cannot tell from this sentence because it uses the indefinite article een. For the record, it is het montuur. It is helpful to memorize the gender so you know to use het or dit (this) when referring to a specific frame later.
If I wanted to emphasize the objects by putting them at the start of the sentence, how would the word order change?
Moving that entire phrase to the front of the sentence takes up the first position, which triggers inversion (the verb must come before the subject). The sentence would become: Noch een montuur noch contactlenzen draagt zij.
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