Neither

Question

Hello, I have defficulties using neither. Please insert the right form of the verbs :1.Neither they nor he...(are/is)2.Neither he nor they... (are/is)3.Neither you nor he... (have/has)4.neither he nor you... (have/has)5.Neither you nor I ...  (are/is)and another question would be : How come ''he and I are...'' but ''neither he nor I is...'' ?Thanks

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi MustAsk;

Here is the usage note on Neither from Dictionary.com:

Subjects connected by neither ... nor take singular verbs and pronouns when both subjects are singular,
Neither Diane nor Nicole has her own apartment
plural when both are plural:
Neither the Yankees nor the Dodgers got much help from their bull pens that year.
Usage guides commonly say that when a singular and a plural subject are joined by these correlative conjunctions, the noun or pronoun nearer the verb should determine the number of the verb:
Neither the mayor nor the council members have yielded on the issue. Neither the council members nor the mayor has yielded on the issue. Practice in this matter varies, however, and often the presence of one plural, no matter what its position, results in a plural verb.

My note:
The pronoun I is a special case, because its present tense 'be' verb agreement is irregular. We never use "neither... am," even if I is closer to the verb.
I generally avoid such sentences, and find another way to say what I want, for example:
Neither of us is (are) going to the party.

The choice of is/are here is guided by another usage note:

When neither is followed by a prepositional phrase with a plural object, there has been, ever since the 17th century, a tendency, especially in speech and less formal writing, to use a plural verb and personal pronoun: Neither of the guards were at their stations. In edited writing, however, singular verbs and pronouns are more common in such constructions: Neither of the guards was at his station.

Regards,
A-

s

Neither

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions