Re: was/were; bad/badly; due to/because of

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:34:53 GMT

Niether / or question and usage

Searching findings:

If two singular subjects are connected by neither . . . nor or either . . . or, the verb must be singular as well.

â¢ Neither Spiderman nor Batman is going to the party.

â¢ Either Slim or Roger has to leave town before someone gets hurt.

If one singular subject and one plural subject are connected by neither . . . nor or either . . . or, match the verb with whichever subject itâs closer to.

â¢ Neither Olivia nor the boys eat mushrooms.

â¢ Neither the boys nor Olivia eats mushrooms.

â¢ Either one rat or several mice are eating everything in the cupboard.

â¢ Either several mice or one rat is eating everything in the cupboard.

On another search, it said:

He will not permit the change or (or nor) even consider it. In noun phrases of the type no this or that, or is actually more common than nor: He has no experience or interest (less frequently nor interest) in chemistry. Or is also more common than nor when such a noun phrase, adjective phrase, or adverb phrase is introduced by not: He is not a philosopher or a statesman. They were not rich or happy.

clause), you can use either or or nor: He will not permit the change or (or nor) even consider it. In noun phrases of the type no this or that, or is actually more common than nor: He has no experience or interest (less frequently nor interest) in chemistry. Or is also more common than nor when such a noun phrase, adjective phrase, or adverb phrase is introduced by not: He is not a philosopher or a statesman. They were not rich or happy.

I think I know why we have varying opinions here. When I made my posting, I had neither and either in mind as singular form because that was the original posted question. So all the references I made was based on that premise. After doing some searching, I think we are all correct.

Now, let me give it another twist. If I were to say:

âNeither I nor my friends are going to the partyâ- This is correct; isnât it?

Now if I reword it to âNeither my friends nor I [was/ am /are] going to the partyâ which one is correct? since "I" is the noun closea to the verb?

I promise, I will leave it at that.

Re: "There/Here is" with plural subject allowed?

eagle2l84 — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:56:53 GMT

Hi,

it's me, Ralf, the starter of this thread. Thanks for your answers so far. A post in another thread pointed me to the "American Heritage - Book of English Usage", where I found this section:

According to the standard rule, when the pronoun there precedes a verb such as be, seem, or appear, the verb agrees in number with the following grammatical subject: There is a great Italian deli across the street. There are fabulous wildflowers in the hills. There seems to be a blueberry pie cooking in the kitchen. There seem to be a few trees between the green and me. But people often disregard this rule and use a singular verb with a plural subject, especially when speaking or when using the contraction thereâs. The Usage Panel dislikes this construction, however. Seventy-nine percent reject the sentence Thereâs only three things you need to know about this book. But when thereâs is followed by a compound subject whose first element is singular, the panel feels differently. Fifty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence In each of us thereâs a dreamer and a realist, and 32 percent more accept it in informal usage. The panel is even more accepting of the sentence When you get to the stop light, thereâs a gas station on the left and a grocery store on the right; 58 percent accept it in formal usage, while 37 percent more accept it in informal usage. Although this usage would seem to violate the rules of subject and verb agreement, the attraction of the verb to the singular noun phrase following it is so strong that it is hard to avoid the construction entirely.

While this clarifies the usage for AmE, I still wonder how it used around the world.

Hoping for more to come,

cu

Search results for 'tag:Plural subject tag:Noun phrases' matching tags 'Plural subject' and 'Noun phrases'

Re: was/were; bad/badly; due to/because of

Re: "There/Here is" with plural subject allowed?