Sentence Correction

In the early part of the twentieth century, many vacationers found that driving automobiles and sleeping in tents allowed them to enjoy nature close at hand and tour at their own pace, with none of the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables or with the formalities, expenses, and impersonality of hotels.

A. with none of the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables or with the
B. with none of the restrictions of passenger trains, railroad timetables, nor
C. without the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables nor
D. without the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables or with the
E. without the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables or the

[spoiler]OA: E[/spoiler]

Besides parallelism what are the other issues with the wrong options?

Thanks.

In answer to the question:

Options B and C contain nor at the end which means that there should be a neither somewhere before the nor. Options A and D contain the word with which also does not work because the 'with' implies that the items listed (formalities, expenses, etc) are actually present when what is being said is that all the listed items are not there when vacationers took such trips. In addition, the 'without' is more concise than 'none of'. Finally, because of the 'without' before the first list, we know that it applies to the list that follows as well (without X or Y) and there is no need to repeat the 'without'.

Options B and C contain nor at the end which means that there should be a neither somewhere before the nor.

Does this mean we never use "nor" without neither ?

Actually, a quick scan of the 12th edition of the Official Guide doesn't show 'nor'/ 'neither...nor' being tested, so this should tell you something. This does not mean they cannot be tested.

Neither...nor usually go together, but can sometimes be used separately:

Example:Neither of them wants to go.(this is the same as saying neither he nor she wants to go)
He did not buy ice cream; nor did he think about it. (you can also say: He neither thought about nor bought the ice cream)

The 'nor' can be used as a negative addition to an already negative remark/situation as in the above. The rules do get confusing but usually when the neither..nor is used to express the negatives of two alternatives (not this one and not that one= neither...nor) and can also make things more concise.

Also pay attention that the verb conjugated usually agrees with what comes after the 'nor' part: Neither my parents nor my friend wants to go. (The verb agrees with the friend, not the parents).

If one takes a look at the structure,

A = the restrictions of passenger trains and railroad timetables
B = the formalities, expenses, and impersonality of hotels

Option A - with none of A or with B
Option B - with none of A nor B
Option C - without A nor B
Option D - without A or with B
Option E - without A or B

Options A, B, C are unidiomatic in standard English. Option D changes meaning.

E is perfect.

I am confused between D and E.

Could someone please explain ?

pesfunk wrote:I am confused between D and E.

Could someone please explain ?

D is not parallel

without the restrictions ............ or the formalities .......