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tahriali
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Neither...nor
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Hi My Dear Colleagues
Which one is correct/ or both?
1/ Neither the teacher nor the pupils is in class.
2/ Neither the teacher nor the pupils are in class.
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25 Jan 2010
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Mariethe House
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Number 2
Neither the pupils nor the teacher are in class
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25 Jan 2010
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niacouto
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Only number 2 is correct.
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25 Jan 2010
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pollyanna_pl
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In British English only number one is correct (Fowler Grammar).
But if you google neither nor, you will find several more examples.
Hope I �ve been of some help.
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25 Jan 2010
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cagreis
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The verb has to agree with the last subject - COMPARE:
"Neither the teacher nor the pupil is in class.
OR
"Neither the teacher nor the pupils are in class. Bye. |
25 Jan 2010
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tahriali
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Thanks everybody
Still confusing!!
Read this (A student �s grammar of the English language/ By Sidney Greenbaum, Randolph Quirk) "In less formal usage, phrases coordinated with neither ...nor are treated more like and for concord. Thus (5) is more natural in speech than (6)
(5) Neither he nor his wife have arrived.
(6) Neither he nor his wife has arrived.
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25 Jan 2010
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lizsantiago
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As far as grammar rules i have always read that the verb must agree with the last subject just as cagreis explained
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25 Jan 2010
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Jayho
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Hi Tahriali
Number 2 is correct.
Generally:
- Both subjects are singular = singular verb
- One or both subjects are plural = plural verb (note: the plural subject should appear last)
However:
In relation to your second entry, yes this is correct. Grammar guru Swan also says that where both subjects are singular then the verb can be plural in a less formal style. We hear a lot of this in spoken everyday conversation. My suggestion is that you teach the formal style for writing and make your students aware of the less formal style used in conversation and informal writing.
Cheers
Jayho |
26 Jan 2010
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tahriali
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Thanks again my pals;
I �d like to go further with this. I really spent all night long searching this grammatical controversial issue. Eventually, I had an approximate conviction that we are dealing with two different approaches. In Classical British English (Fowler) the verb is always singular; in modern English (especially with Quirk) the verb form depends on both number and gender of two subjects.
The following example may either clarify or further cmplicate the matter:
*Add a question tag to this sentence:
Neither Bob nor Mary has/ have come, ............................?
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26 Jan 2010
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