3 Cases of Faulty Parallel Structure of Negation

3 Cases of Faulty Parallel Structure of Negation 3 Cases of Faulty Parallel Structure of Negation 3 Cases of Faulty Parallel Structure of Negation By Mark Nichol The following three sentences, each followed by a discussion and a revision, illustrate the problem with setting up a â€Å"neither . . . nor† construction or similar phrasing without careful attention to grammatical integrity. 1. â€Å"Data coming from third-party sources can neither be made to comply with the organization’s security guidelines nor can its authenticity be trusted.† The grammatical confusion in this sentence is akin to that in a sentence in which the wording of a phrase including â€Å"not only† and â€Å"but also† is incorrectly ordered. (Search â€Å"not only . . . but also† on this site for multiple posts about frequently erroneous construction of sentences that include those phrases.) A â€Å"neither . . . nor† construction is not valid when a repeated verb (such as can) follows it; use it (with neither moved after the verb phrase â€Å"made to†) only if a single instance of a verb will serve both phrases: â€Å". . . can be made to comply neither with the organization’s security guidelines nor its (something else).† But for this sentence, let cannot take the place of â€Å"can neither†: â€Å"Data coming from third-party sources cannot be made to comply with the organization’s security guidelines, nor can its authenticity be trusted.† 2. â€Å"He does not represent neither goodness nor kindness.† Here’s another misuse of the â€Å"neither . . . nor† construction. Here, it is redundant to not; use one or the other: â€Å"He does not represent (either) goodness or kindness† (either is optional) or â€Å"He represents neither goodness nor kindness.† 3. â€Å"Smith wasn’t lamenting the view, but the decision by Yosemite National Park to change the names of some of the world’s most beloved destinations.† As with the first example, this sentence’s problematic grammar resembles that often seen in the erroneous construction of a â€Å"not only . . . but also† statement. Here, the verb lamenting should split the contraction wasn’t so that the contrast is clearly stated in â€Å"not (this) but (that)† form: â€Å"Smith was lamenting not the view but the decision by Yosemite National Park to change the names of some of the world’s most beloved destinations.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:36 Adjectives Describing Light60 Synonyms for â€Å"Trip†Comma Before Too?