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Is it an accepted form to begin a sentence with the word "neither" used as an adverb?

Many grammar sources discuss sentences beginning with "neither", but only in the context of the form of "neither... nor...".

Consider the following example:

Mr. Trump was unpopular among much of the electorate. Neither was he favored even by the established branch of his own party.

Note that little doubt seems to surround the following sentence:

Mr. Trump was unpopular among much of the electorate, and neither was he favored even by the established branch of his own party.

tchrist
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brainchild
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  • In a word, yes. You can use either of neither or nor on its own at the start of a sentence and never use the other. It resumes a negative statement just made. ‘That is because you do not understand and cannot imagine what lies ahead,’ said Elrond. ‘Neither does Frodo,’ said Gandalf, unexpectedly supporting Pippin. ‘Nor do any of us see clearly. It is true that if these hobbits understood the danger, they would not dare to go. … Even if you chose for us an elf-lord, such as Glorfindel, he could not storm the Dark Tower, nor open the road to the Fire by the power that is in him.’ – tchrist Sep 10 '21 at 03:34
  • I'd say no, it can't. In simple terms, when it is used as a negative marker it requires a negative word like "not" in the preceding clause, e.g. "Mr. Trump was not popular among much of the electorate. Neither/ nor was he favored even by the established branch of his own party". Here, "nor" would be the natural choice. – BillJ Sep 10 '21 at 06:27
  • @BillJ, "Nor" is a conjunction, meaning its appearance is between clauses (though many in practice use "and" or "or" to lead a sentence, such is not their most natural place). "Neither" appears to function variously as a determiner, pronoun, or adverb, but not a conjunction, meaning it must follow "and" when appearing in a dependent clause. As the parts of speech assigned to each word appear to be non-overlapping, I question the conclusion that "nor" should lead, or even may lead following good style, a sentence, as you suggest. – brainchild Sep 10 '21 at 07:14
  • Yes, "nor" is best regarded as a coordinator (your conjunction). I don't see a problem with it introducing the second clause in your example (where it triggers subject-auxiliary inversion) provided the first clause is negative, which, as I said, would require the negative marker "not". Note that "nor" triggers subject-auxiliary inversion. The adverb "neither" is also possible, in which case it would be a connective adjunct. Note that this "neither" is not a marker of coordination because of the possibility of having the coordinator "and" before it. – BillJ Sep 10 '21 at 17:06
  • @BillJ: In the example, the first sentence uses a negated adjective form ("unpopular"), but not an explicit word of negation (e.g. "not"). Does this distinction present a problem for the use of "neither" in a subsequent clause or sentence? – brainchild Sep 10 '21 at 19:28
  • The negative adjective "unpopular" does not mark the clause as negative. This can only be done (in this case) by the negative marker "not". Note that “Mr Trump was unpopular” is a positive clause, while “Mr Trump was not popular” is a negative clause. The subsequent clause can be introduced by "neither" or "nor", though the latter is more common, I believe. – BillJ Sep 11 '21 at 09:31
  • @BillJ, I suppose that "nor", being a conjunction, comes with the same stylistic caveats for leading a sentence as "and", "or", "but", and similar words, such that some writers may wish to avoid the construction for reason of adherence to a stricter set of grammatical constraints. – brainchild Sep 11 '21 at 21:51
  • I'm not aware that style is an issue, but it could be. Incidentally, some speakers allow a preceding “and”, so that for them “nor” is not a conjunction but a connective adjunct, like the “neither” that could replace it. However, for many this “nor” cannot combine with “and”, and thus is best regarded as a conjunction, hence my earlier comment. – BillJ Sep 12 '21 at 06:36

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