Ne otobüs ne tren geldi.

the bus

Breakdown of Ne otobüs ne tren geldi.

• gelmek: to come
• tren: the train
• ne ... ne: neither ... nor

Questions & Answers about Ne otobüs ne tren geldi.

Why is the verb positive (geldi) instead of negative (gelmedi)?

Because ne ... ne ... already provides the negation. In this construction the verb stays in its normal, affirmative form.

• Correct: Ne otobüs ne tren geldi.
• By contrast, with negative words like hiç kimse/hiçbir şey, the verb is negative: Hiç kimse gelmedi.

Is it ever okay to say Ne otobüs ne tren gelmedi?

You will hear it in colloquial speech, but in careful/standard Turkish it’s considered non-standard (a kind of double negation). Prefer the affirmative verb: Ne otobüs ne tren geldi.

Do I need the de after the second ne (as in ne ... ne de ...)?

• Both are fine: Ne otobüs ne tren geldi and Ne otobüs ne de tren geldi.
• Using ne de is very common and sounds slightly more natural.
• Only the second (and later) ne takes de; the first does not.
• It’s written separately: ne de.
• It is always de (never da) here, because it attaches to ne, whose vowel is e.

Should the verb be singular or plural?