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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Specific has vs. have

In the sentence "Please feel free to give me a call if you or Jim have any questions." Is have correct? I know Jim is the 3rd person singular and would use has if it were only him and the or should make it singular but have is correct for the singular you. Please advise.

Thanks!
  

Top answer

The rules of agreement say it should be "has". When subjects are joined by "or", the agreement is with the last subject, Jim in this case. However, I have to say that I would use "have" in this situation, in direct contravention of the rules.

— CalifJim

  • The rules of agreement say it should be "has".
  • When subjects are joined by "or", the agreement is with the last subject, Jim in this case.
  • However, I have to say that I would use "have" in this situation, in direct contravention of the rules.
  • CJ
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2 Answers
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The rules of agreement say it should be "has". When subjects are joined by "or", the agreement is with the last subject, Jim in this case.

However, I have to say that I would use "have" in this situation, in direct contravention of the rules.
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CalifJim
However, I have to say that I would use "have" in this situation, in direct contravention of the rules.

Swap 'You' and 'Jim'... Problem solved
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