"The significant effects proposed by the 5 packages do not agree —neither with each other nor with the book."
Is this really wrong? I know the rule about using neither/nor only with affirmative statements, but it just feels so right.
I'm proofreading a text and wanted to add this. But the grammar check insists that it's incorrect (I know, not always reliable). I was hoping that setting it apart with the double-hyphen would separate it sufficiently from the affirmative verb.
Best Answer
Here is what I think sounds best (total opinion = the presence of the punctuation in this case doesn't change the grammar).
In the negative case, I would use either/or with a comma (or dash).
In the positive case, I would use neither/nor but without punctuation.