12.07.2017 · Neither of and either of are followed by a plural noun or pronoun and a singular or plural verb. A plural verb is more informal: Neither of my parents speaks/ speak a foreign language. When neither… nor… or either… or… are used with two singular nouns, the verb can be singular or plural. A plural verb is more informal.
22.11.2020 · When the words in a compound subject are joined by “and,” it is plural. When they are joined by “or” or “nor,” the verb should agree with the part closest to it. When phrases like “as well as” are attached to a singular subject, it stays singular.
12.09.2015 · Look for the either/or and neither/nor constructions. Under this condition, the verb is singular or plural based on the subject closest to the verb. If the subject closest to the verb is singular, use a singular verb. If the closest subject is plural, use a plural verb. If both subjects are singular or both plural, the choice for the verb is easy.
09.04.2019 · A complication to these rules comes when one choice is singular and the other is plural. In this case, the general rule is that the verb should agree with the closest noun. In other words, when the either/neither phrase comes before …
Either my parents or my sister is going to visit. The way I learned it (as native speaker) is that, when the subject is "A or B", the verb agrees with the noun closest to the verb (i.e., B). Bear in mind that you will still be understood by native English speakers even if you used "are" instead of "is," even in writing. I don't care, at least.
Sep 12, 2015 · Look for the either/or and neither/nor constructions. Under this condition, the verb is singular or plural based on the subject closest to the verb. If the subject closest to the verb is singular, use a singular verb. If the closest subject is plural, use a plural verb. If both subjects are singular or both plural, the choice for the verb is easy.
Mar 09, 2019 · For a lot of people the singular sounds strange and they prefer to use the plural. Descriptively, you'll find in many cases that the plural is used more than the singular. Prescriptively, only the singular is correct. Descriptively, the plural can be equally or more correct than the singular.
'Either/or' and 'neither/nor' are singular if their elements are singular, but treat the pairing as plural if one of their elements is plural. There is a different convention called the Proximity Rule.
Both of those individual cases could be single grammatically (either my parent or my sister are going to visit), and the conjunction can still use 'are' in relation to the verb phrase. Just add a few more singular objects to see how natural it is to use are in regular spoken English:
If the pairings "either/or" or "neither/nor" form part of the subject and at least one of the elements is plural, then the verb must be plural too. For example: Neither the lawyer nor the detectives are able to follow the sequence of events. (Here, "lawyer" is singular, but "detectives" is plural.
Dec 11, 2020 · In informal usage, the pronoun either may refer to one of two things or to both things at once, and accordingly take a singular verb ( either is) or a plural verb ( either are ). The plural verb is common when either is followed by the preposition of in speech (e.g., either of these, either of them ). Examples.
01.07.2013 · 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.”.
If the pairings either/or (often the either is omitted) or neither/nor form part of the subject of a verb and at least one of the elements is plural, then the verb must be plural too. Under this rule, " Either the budgies or the cat has to go" is incorrect.
11.12.2020 · In informal usage, the pronoun either may refer to one of two things or to both things at once, and accordingly take a singular verb ( either is) or a plural verb ( either are ). The plural verb is common when either is followed by the preposition of in speech (e.g., either of these, either of them ).
Either can be both a singular or a plural. It can be the one and the other of the two. If it is the one is the singular and if the other person is included it is then a plural.