2

When I have these facts,

  1. French coins were not found in the ruin.
  2. German coins were not found in the ruin.

which of these sentences are grammatically correct?

1.

No French and German coins were found in the ruin.

2.

No French or German coins were found in the ruin.

3.

No french nor German coins were found in the ruin.

I think 1 is correct but I'm not sure. By the way, I can also say

Neither German nor French coins were found in the ruin.

Also, when you have an additional fact

  1. Italian coins were not found in the ruin

which of these statements are grammatically correct?

1.

No French, German and Italian coins were found in the ruin.

2.

No French, German or Italian coins were found in the ruin.

3.

None of French, German and Italian coins were found in the ruin.

4.

None of French, German or Italian coins were found in the ruin.

Thanks,

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2
  • 2
    Only 2. is idiomatic. You will occasionally find constructions like 4., but they are rare and klunky.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Feb 16, 2016 at 11:32
  • In casual conversation, you will hear people say "There weren't any French, German, or Italian coins found in the ruin." In writing, where concision is a goal, you'd see "No French, German, ...."
    – TimR
    Feb 16, 2016 at 13:21

2 Answers 2

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1

In your sentences

And Problem

1) No French and German coins were found in the ruin.

No French, German and Italian coins were found in the ruin.
None of French, German and Italian coins were found in the ruin.

can possibly mean coins coproduced by the French and the Germans or coins coproduced by the Germans and the Italians. In the examples of three different coins, this can be solved by punctuation, adding a ','(comma) before the and

No French, German, and Italian coins were found in the ruin.
None of French, German, and Italian coins were found in the ruin.

these would have the meaning you want as in #2

The Correct One

2) No French or German coins were found in the ruin.

No French, German or Italian coins were found in the ruin.
No French, German, or Italian coins were found in the ruin.

means both French coins and German coins and Italian coins were not found

Nor Problem

3) No french nor German coins were found in the ruin.

is not quite right and should be

3) Neither French nor German coins were found in the ruin.
Neither French nor German nor Italian coins were found in the ruin.

nor is usually paired with neither as is a set combination, and has the same meaning as #2

Klunky Problem (as per @StoneyB)

None of French, German or Italian coins were found in the ruin.

is correct but not often used.

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2

#2. #1 would imply no coins that were simultaneously French and German were found.

In the second group, also #2; I don't know if 4 is grammatically correct, but I've never heard anyone use such constructs.

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