Breakdown of Weder trägt er Wolle, noch kauft er Baumwolle.
er
he
kaufen
to buy
tragen
to carry, to wear
weder
neither
weder ... noch
nor
die Baumwolle
the cotton
die Wolle
the wool
Questions & Answers about Weder trägt er Wolle, noch kauft er Baumwolle.
Why does the verb come right after weder and noch instead of the subject er?
When weder (neither) and noch (nor) are placed at the very beginning of their respective clauses, they take up the first position. Since German requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position, the subject (er) has to move to the third position. This swap is called inversion.
Could I start the sentence with the subject er instead of weder?
Yes, you can! You could also say Er trägt weder Wolle, noch kauft er Baumwolle. In this version, weder just sits inside the first clause. However, noch almost always starts the second clause, so kauft er stays inverted.
Does Baumwolle literally mean 'tree wool'?
Exactly! Baum means tree and Wolle means wool. Although it translates to 'tree wool', Baumwolle is simply the German word for cotton.
Do I always need a comma before noch when using weder ... noch?
No. If you are just connecting two nouns or short phrases without verbs (for example, weder Wolle noch Baumwolle), you do not use a comma. You only need the comma in this sentence because you are connecting two complete main clauses, each with its own subject and verb.
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