3

Does the sentence sound natural?

I don’t have either late-night nor between-meal snacks.

2
  • 1
    Typo: "stacks" should be "snacks" (both in title and question).
    – Xantix
    Oct 1, 2012 at 2:28
  • Apparently you haven't seen ME eat. I often have stacks of food between meals. :-)
    – Jay
    Oct 1, 2012 at 15:56

2 Answers 2

13

No, it doesn't sound natural. You've mixed your correlative conjunctions.

Either is used with or and neither should be paired with nor, so you should choose from the following options:

I don't have either late night or between-meal snacks.

I have neither late night nor between-meal snacks.

1
  • 4
    And of those two, the second sounds much better. You might also say, "I don't eat late-night or between-meal snacks."
    – Jim
    Oct 1, 2012 at 2:40
1

Regarding specifically Does the sentence sound natural?, and assuming you mean in spoken English today.

It does not. You almost never say "nor" in every day spoken English. For that matter, you rarely say "either" in every day spoken English, and if you do you place it badly at the end.

A copywriter on a radio ad would probably write to be read:

"I don't eat late-night snacks, and I don't
eat between-meal snacks, either!!"

Furthermore! Hyphenated "slightly technical" phrases like "between-meals" do not sound natural in spoken English.

In real life (funnily enough, I don't eat snacks late at night and I don't eat snacks between meals) I'd probably say something like: I never eat snacks late at night and I never eat snacks between meals.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.