Learn French: Je n'aime ni la soie ni le coton. - I like neither silk nor cotton.

Je n'aime ni la soie ni le coton.

I like neither silk nor cotton.

Breakdown of Je n'aime ni la soie ni le coton.

not (used before the verb)

aimer

to like, to love

nor

Questions & Answers about Je n'aime ni la soie ni le coton.

Where is the word pas in this negative sentence?

When you use the multiple negation ne... ni... ni... (neither... nor...), you must drop the word pas. The ni... ni... structure completely replaces it to create the negative meaning.

Why do we use the articles la and le here? Don't articles usually disappear after ni?

It depends on the type of article! Indefinite and partitive articles (like un, une, des, du) are completely dropped after ni. However, definite articles (le, la, les) are always kept. Because verbs of preference like aimer require definite articles, we must keep la and le in this sentence.

Is it completely wrong to say Je n'aime pas ni la soie ni le coton?

Yes, that is grammatically incorrect in French. You cannot combine pas with ni... ni... in the same clause. Think of ni... ni... as a strict replacement for pas.

What if I wanted to say I dislike three fabrics instead of two?

You would simply add another ni before the third item. For example, to add wool (la laine), you would say: Je n'aime ni la soie ni le coton ni la laine.