Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique.

From Lesson 337:The continents·French

Questions & Answers about Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique.

Why isn't there a pas after connaît?
The construction ne ... ni ... ni ... means 'neither ... nor ...'. It is a complete negation on its own, so you must drop the pas. Adding pas here would be grammatically incorrect.
Why do the continents keep their articles (l') here? Doesn't ni ... ni ... usually remove articles?
The rule depends on the type of article. The ni ... ni ... structure removes indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la). However, definite articles (le, la, les, l') must be kept. Since you use definite articles with continents in French, l' stays.
Océanie and Antarctique both end in -e. Does that mean they are both feminine?
Actually, Antarctique is a notable exception. While Océanie is feminine, Antarctique is masculine. It is the only continent in French that is masculine despite ending in an -e.
Could I use savoir instead of connaître to say he doesn't know these places?
No, you must use connaître when talking about being familiar with a place, person, or noun. Savoir is reserved for knowing facts, knowing how to do something, or preceding a clause (like knowing 'that' something happened).

Learn Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique 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