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Either, Neither, and Subject-Verb Agreement



When “either” or “neither” is alone, it’s supposed to take a singular verb: “Neither one is wrong.” But when there’s an intervening phrase, many people will use a plural: “Neither of the animals in the zoo have eaten.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary says that usage is “quite common”; Garner’s Modern American Usage lists it at Stage 3 of the five-stage Language-Change Index, meaning “quite common” but still not quite fully acceptable.

With “either or/neither nor” constructions, when subjects are either singular or plural, the verb matches the subject: “Either the tiger or the elephant is going to be fed soon”; “Neither the tigers nor the elephants are hungry.”

But what to do with a mixed marriage, when one subject is plural and the other singular?

The short answer: Location, location, location.

Text Source: “Either Win(S).” Columbia Journalism Review, archives.cjr.org/language_corner/neither_regions.php. Accessed 7 Dec. 2019.

 Lessons and Exercises:

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