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Is the usage of "nor" instead of "neither" correct in these sentences? :

I did not believe his story, but neither did I believe hers.

He didn't deny the reports, but neither did he confirm them.

With "nor":

I did not believe his story, but nor did I believe hers.

He didn't deny the reports, but nor did he confirm them.

Thank you in advance!

Edit: So, should I remove the "but" in all four sentences? :

I did not believe his story, neither did I believe hers.

He didn't deny the reports, neither did he confirm them.

With "nor":

I did not believe his story, nor did I believe hers.

He didn't deny the reports, nor did he confirm them.

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    No. It would be correct without "but": "I did not believe his story, nor did I believe hers." Unfortunately, this loses the contrast in the word "but", so the sentences do not have the exact same meaning.
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Jan 24, 2022 at 3:04
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    All eight sentences are grammatical and idiomatic - and I see little, if any, difference in meaning among them.
    – WS2
    Commented Jul 8, 2022 at 18:31

3 Answers 3

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It might not be 100% grammatically correct but it sounds fine to me as a native speaker and means the same thing in all 4 sentences.

To be grammatically perfect, I agree with the other commenter that you would remove the "but".

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“Nor” does not need to be in a sentence with the word “neither.” I would suggest to just drop the "but" in all four sentences.

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Perhaps better versions of the two sentences should be

I neither believe his story nor hers.

or even

I believe neither of their stories.

Which I believe to be better usage of the neither / nor. For example, see this definition in the Cambridge Dictionary.

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  • Ungrammatical. "Neither" needs to be after the "believe" so the two parts are parallel
    – Mary
    Commented Nov 8, 2022 at 2:17
  • @Mary I'm not sure I agree. See the second answer from StoneyB to ell.stackexchange.com/questions/4732/… I would say my answer comes under the final construct [I] neither believe his story nor [do I believe {omitted}] hers
    – Peter Jennings
    Commented Nov 8, 2022 at 13:10

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