Subject/verb agreement can be confusing when we use either…or
or neither…nor couplets. As we’re presenting a noun phrase with
multiple objects, it seems natural to use a plural verb, but the verb may often be used in the singular.
This depends on the nouns included; the option between two (either one or the other) does not necessarily create a plural on its own.
This article discusses why.
How
When we use either…or and neither…nor, we present a choice between two different options. The suggestion is that one of these options will complete the action, so when we have a choice between two singular objects, the verb can only be done by one of them. Hence, though we have two nouns, the verb should then be singular:
- Either my mum or my dad is cooking dinner. (not are cooking)
- Neither the dog nor the cat eats cheese. (not eat cheese)
To make more sense of this, look what happens when we assign the action to both nouns within the choice: Either my mum is cooking dinner or my dad is cooking dinner. It is possible that they could both complete the action, but we use either to indicate only one of them will.
This said, however, you may find that with informal English a plural is used. As the examples above demonstrate, this isn’t strictly grammatically accurate, but English users are not always bothered about strict grammatical accuracy, so it can be acceptable in informal settings.
The choice between two plural nouns is simpler, as the verb should always be in the plural.
- Either the chairs or the boxes have to be moved. (not has to be)
- Neither lions nor tigers make good pets. (not makes)
Again, these statements would work with the full verb assigned to each noun.
- Neither lions make good pets nor tigers make good pets.
Either/Neither with Mixed Singulars and Plurals
A complication to these rules comes when one choice is singular and the other is plural. In this case, the general rule is that the verb should agree with the closest noun. In other words, when the either/neither phrase comes before the verb, the verb should agree with the second option.
- Either Rachel or her sisters were telling a lie.
- Either the bikes or the car is getting sold.
- Neither Rachel nor her sisters were telling the truth.
- Neither the musicians nor the conductor is ready for the performance.
Though this is the rule we aim for (to be grammatically correct), it can sound a little strange to the ear, as there is an option of a plural completing the action, but no plural verb. For this reason some English speakers may (albeit erroneously) use a plural verb with either/neither statements using mixed singulars and plurals, regardless of which is closer to the verb. Rather than risk being technically incorrect, if you wish to use a plural in these instances it’s best to simply reorder the choice to make sure the plural is closest to the verb.
- Either the car or the bikes are getting sold.
As a final thought, if you assign a verb to each choice, of course, it should agree with whichever noun you assign it to:
- Either Rachel was telling the truth or her sisters were.
Let me know if you’ve got any questions!
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Your ‘Singular and Plural Verbs with “Either…or” and “Neither…nor” ‘ article fails to address the situations that arise when pronouns are involved. For example: Neither you nor I {is/am/are} eligible to vote in Vermont
Thanks for pointing that out – yes, there’s some room to expand on that issue, which I’ll try come back to.
Thanks a lot. It was a dilemma to me.
I’m glad it helped!
Phil
What is the rule when pronouns are used? Example: Neither you nor I {is/am/are} eligible to vote in Vermont. Do you stick with the rule of using the subject closest to the verb. In this case the example would read: Neither you nor I am eligible to vote in Vermont?
Hi Margaret,
Apologies, it’s not a point I’ve managed to come back to yet, or that I feel has a simple answer – I sense this is one of those areas where you’ll find people as a whole are largely inconsistent – in the example, I could imagine it’d sound equally natural (or unnatural!) to say “Neither you nor I are eligible” vs “am”, with the plural. On my instinct, I’d probably stick to the general rules for subjects, but I don’t feel the first person “am” fits the construction well – yet it’s not as easy to reorder pronouns for a more natural fit (“Neither I nor you are…” creates an unusual pattern, putting “I” first). I’ll see if any of my textbooks cover this, but I suspect it’s a case where there’s not so much a rule as patterns of use that sound least awkward!
Phil
English is not my native language so I do not have this “feeling” about what sounds right and what does not but would following example be acceptable? “Either you are or I am taking dog to the Vet.” and the same for singular / plural scenarios: “Neither requirements are nor the solution is clear.”
Are such formulations completely wrong?
Hi Peter, I wouldn’t say they are completely wrong but they do sound rather unnatural; in practice most English speakers would not use another verb, and though the plural agreement might be more accurate this way it actually sounds less clear. It would be possible to frame the sentence this way if we really wanted to add emphasis to the difference, e.g. if you were speaking in a slow and deliberate manner, but mostly I would not include two verbs like this.
The explanation is clear as water and very important concise
Thanks Phil.
Thanks!
Is/are either your friend or his parents coming with us?
which one is the correct answer IS/ARE? why?
“Are” would be more possible as we have a plural (“parents”), and I’d expect that to be quite common, but you might hear both as “Is” would agree with the closest noun to the verb, being singular (“your friend”).
Hi,
I have a question.
‘Tall fences were installed on either side or sides of this tunnel’
What’s correct betweens side and sides?
Hi Ahmed,
Sorry for the slow reply as I was away. “either side” would be the correct choice here.
Phil