There were neither cakes nor ice-cream at the party.

(Here, 'lawyer' is singular, but 'detectives' is plural. Neither the lawyer nor the detectives are able to follow the sequence of events.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. Read about using 'his/her' and 'their' as singular concepts. It should be 'does.' NB: Sometimes, you have to look further down the sentence too. (As 'Simon' is singular and 'Gary' is singular, 'do' is wrong. Neither Simon nor Gary do as they are told.Either a mouse or a rat eats the cable at night.(As 'clerk' is singular and 'secretary' is singular, 'has' is correct i.e., 'have' would be wrong.) Either the clerk or the secretary has the keys to the Land Rover.(As 'Dickens' is singular and 'Thackeray' is singular, 'was' is correct i.e., 'were' would be wrong.)

Neither Dickens nor Thackeray was a panderer to the public taste.(As 'Mark' is singular and 'Dawn' is singular, then 'is' is correct. Neither Mark nor Dawn is at the function.If the pairings 'either/or' (often the 'either' is omitted) or 'neither/nor' form part of the subject of a verb and both elements are singular, then the verb is singular too. (Here, 'neither' is a determiner modifying 'man.' The term 'neither man' is singular.) (Here, 'either' is a determiner modifying 'car.' The term 'either car' is singular.) Here are some examples showing 'either' and 'neither' as singular concepts: It means 'not one nor the other of two things, i.e., not either.' It also attracts a singular verb.Įxamples Showing 'Either' and 'Neither' As Singular The word 'neither' can also be a pronoun or a determiner. 'Either' means 'one or the other of two things.' It attracts a singular verb. The word 'either' can be a pronoun or a determiner. 'Either' and 'neither' are singular concepts.

Plural verbs rules