Neither ... nor... and Either ... or...constructions

In both cases, all you have to do is combine two subjects with the necessary conjunctions. The combined subjects then share the rest of the sentence. Try it and we'll check your work.

1. Neither Frank nor Lilly cares about her / his future.

2. Either my brothers or Jane is going to visit next weekend.

Right? Or maybe:

1. Neither Frank nor Lilly care about their future.

2. Either my brothers or Jane are going to visit next weekend?

The rule says: the verb conjugates in number with the neares

1. Neither Frank nor Lilly cares about their future. (the verb is sigular if both subjects are singular)

From that sentence alone there's no way of telling whether they care about their future together or Frank cares about his future and Lily cares about her future. The context in which that sentence is spoken will usually clarify that.

2. Either my brothers or Jan

RusalkaThe rule says: the verb conjugates in number with the nearest subject. But what about real usage? As far as I can see ... the verb mainly takes the plural form ... What do you think?

You are absolutely correct. The rule should certainly be used in any formal situation (including class work), (and in fact it can be used in any situation), but in less f

"...but in less formal situations like everyday conversation, people tend to use only the plural, especially with neither ... nor" . I just try to andestand why. What this tendency is determined by? Do people think it's a notional agreement, and if there are two subjects so the verb should take a plural form? Or anything else? On analogy with not only ... but also conjuction? Can th

RusalkaWhat this tendency is determined by?

This is in the realm of speculation, but I suspect that your idea about two subjects seeming to need (psychologically) a plural verb is probably the best explanation for this tendency.

RusalkaOn analogy with not only ... but also conjuction? Can this syntactic variation be determined by