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'Neither (he) nor I' usage?

30 replies
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Guest:
Which is correct?

1. Neither my assistant nor I am available....

or

2. Neither my assistant nor I is available....
:
First one.

But you can say: Neither I nor my assistant IS available.
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:
Allright I got it!!! But what is the difference between
either/neither, or/nor? What about their usage?
Regular Member610
:
either is a positive - You may have either cake. Enjoy your cake.
neither (think of it as not either) is a negative. You may have neither cake. Be hungry!

or - positive option. You may have strawberry or chocolate cake. Yum Yum.
nor - (think of the n for no) negative option. You may have neither strawberry nor chocolate cake. How mean I am!
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Guest:
Can you please explain the rules of grammer that apply to these two sentences. I understand that the first one is correct. However, when you break down #1 further to say...
" Neither my assistant (am available)"
"Noram available"
Obviously, the first part is incorrect. So, must one focus on the last nounto establish the proper tense?
:
Hello Guest

That's right - the second noun or pronoun determines the person of the verb.

It's not a pretty piece of grammar. Both the correct and incorrect versions are
likely to distress the reader or listener. Sometimes it's best to rephrase the whole
sentence...

MrP
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Guest:
Okay, so..."Neither my assistant nor I am available to take your call" is the right one?

New question: Please explain the usage of a/an as it relates to the word "hour." I understand it is common usage to say " an hour". However, according to the rules of grammer, if I remember correctly, A,E,I,O,U and sometimes Y, are usually preceded by "an". H in this case, being a consonent, how do you explain this variance.
:
Simple: the 'H' is silent.

It's how you pronounce it, not how you spell it, that determines the article.
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Guest:
Neither his friends nor Ali wants to go home.
Neither Ali nor his friends want to go home.

Which is acceptable? I mean the relative pronoun 'his' seems *** to be placed in front. isn't it?
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