Learn French: Ce maître cruel ne donne ni cadeau ni récompense. - This cruel master gives neither gifts nor rewards.

Ce maître cruel ne donne ni cadeau ni récompense.

This cruel master gives neither gifts nor rewards.

Breakdown of Ce maître cruel ne donne ni cadeau ni récompense.

not (used before the verb)

Questions & Answers about Ce maître cruel ne donne ni cadeau ni récompense.

Why are there no articles before cadeau and récompense?

This is the core rule for the ne... ni... ni... (neither... nor...) structure. When you use this double negation, indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l') are completely dropped. Because you would normally say donner un cadeau (to give a gift), the article disappears here.

Why is there no pas in this sentence?

The phrase ne... ni... ni... is a complete negative structure on its own, much like ne... jamais (never) or ne... rien (nothing). Adding pas would be a grammatical error, as the ni... ni... already acts as the second half of the negation to complete the ne.

The English translation says "gifts" and "rewards", but the French words cadeau and récompense are singular. Why?

After ni... ni..., nouns are usually left in the singular if the sentence implies a general category (meaning "any gift" or "any reward"). You only use the plural if the noun is something that logically always comes in groups. Here, the singular emphasizes that he doesn't give a single one of either.

Would definite articles (le, la, les) also be dropped after ni... ni...?