Breakdown of Elle ne porte ni laine ni cuir.
elle
she
ne
not (used before the verb)
porter
to wear
ni
nor
la laine
the wool
le cuir
the leather
Questions & Answers about Elle ne porte ni laine ni cuir.
Why is there no pas in this sentence?
Why doesn't it say de la laine and du cuir? Aren't partitive articles required here?
Normally, yes! If she were wearing them, you would say Elle porte de la laine et du cuir because you need the partitive article to mean "some" wool or leather. However, the ni ... ni ... structure is an exception: it completely drops partitive articles (du, de la, de l') and indefinite articles (un, une, des).
What if I wanted to say she likes neither the wool nor the leather? Do the articles still disappear?
Learn Elle ne porte ni laine ni cuir and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free