What do you do when you have ‘either/or’ or ‘neither/nor’ in your sentence?
When subjects in a sentence are joined by ‘either/or’ or ‘neither/nor,’ choose the subject that is closest to the verb and make it agree!
Example 1: Either the manager or the engineers (is, are) going to be fired.
“Engineers,” which is closest to the verb, determines which verb to choose.
Answer: Either the manager or the engineers are going to be fired.
Example 2: Neither the engineers nor the manager (is, are) going to be fired.
“Manager,” which is closest to the verb, determines which verb to choose.
Answer: Neither the engineers nor the manager is going to be fired.
Note: Let’s hope that no one is going to be fired.
