ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Transformation of sentence

Yoong Liat — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:28:35 GMT

Raju's friends were not at the concert nor was Raju himself.

1. Neither Raju's friends nor Raju was at the concert.

2. Neither Raju nor his friends were at the concert.

Kooyeen wrote: ... the vast majority of native speakers would find #2 much more natural because the plural verb in #2 (=were) agrees with what comes immediately before (...friends were...).

If that's the case, #1 is also correct because the singular verb in #1 (was) agrees with what comes immediately before (...Raju was...).

Do you agree?

Re: Transformation of sentence

Kooyeen — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:05:14 GMT

#1 is maybe grammatically ok according to some grammarians, but I think the vast majority of native speakers would find #2 much more natural. The reason is that the plural verb in #2 (=were) agrees with what comes immediately before (...friends were...).

Transformation of sentence

tamguatlay — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:41:50 GMT

Raju's friends were not at the concert nor was Raju himself.

1. Neither Raju's friends nor Raju was at the concert.

2. Neither Raju nor his friends were at the concert.

Which sentence is correct when the sentence in bold is transformed?

Thanking in advance.