Breakdown of Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique.
il
he
ne
not (used before the verb)
connaître
to know (be familiar with)
ni
nor
Questions & Answers about Il ne connaît ni l'Océanie ni l'Antarctique.
Why isn't there a pas after connaît?
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?
Could I use savoir instead of connaître to say he doesn't know these places?