Né il cane né il gatto sono in giardino.

It means neither ... nor ....

So:

• Né il cane né il gatto = neither the dog nor the cat
• sono in giardino = are in the garden

This is the standard Italian way to link two negative alternatives.

The accent is important because né is the conjunction meaning neither/nor.

Without the accent, ne is a different word in Italian, used as a pronoun or particle with other meanings.

So in this sentence, you should write:

• né il cane né il gatto

not

• ne il cane ne il gatto

In Italian, it is normal to repeat the article with each noun in this structure:

• né il cane né il gatto

This is more natural and correct than trying to use one article for both nouns.

Italian often repeats articles where English might not focus on them as much.

Because together they form a compound subject: neither the dog nor the cat.

In standard Italian, when né ... né ... connects two singular nouns, the verb is often plural because the sentence is referring to two separate things together:

• Né il cane né il gatto sono in giardino.

This is the most natural choice here.

You may sometimes also encounter singular agreement in some contexts, especially when the second noun feels closer to the verb, but for learners, plural is the safest and most standard choice in a sentence like this.

You might see or hear singular agreement sometimes, but sono is the more standard and generally preferred form here.

So for learning purposes, use:

• Né il cane né il gatto sono in giardino.

That will sound correct and natural.

No. With né ... né ... used this way, you do not need non.

So this is correct:

• Né il cane né il gatto sono in giardino.

Adding non would be wrong in this structure.

However, Italian also has structures where non appears earlier in the sentence and né adds a second negative item, but that is a different pattern.

Yes. Here:

• in = in
• giardino = garden

In this expression, Italian often omits the article, so in giardino naturally means in the garden or in the yard/garden, depending on context.

English and Italian do not always use articles in exactly the same way.

The order is very straightforward:

• Né il cane né il gatto = subject
• sono = verb
• in giardino = place

So the structure is:

Neither the dog nor the cat + are + in the garden

Italian word order here is basically the same as English in meaning, even though the negative linking structure is expressed with né ... né ....

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• né ≈ neh
• il cane ≈ eel KAH-neh
• né ≈ neh
• il gatto ≈ eel GAHT-toh

A rough full pronunciation:

neh eel KAH-neh neh eel GAHT-toh SOH-noh een jee-ar-DEE-noh

A couple of points:

• cane has two syllables: ca-ne
• gatto has a double tt, so the t sound is held a little longer
• giardino starts with a soft gi sound, like j in jam

It can do either, depending on context.

• If you are looking outside right now, it can mean Neither the dog nor the cat is in the garden right now.
• In another context, it could describe a general situation.

The present tense sono can cover both kinds of meaning, just like the present tense often can in Italian.