Learn English – “Neither Michael nor Albert is correct” or “Neither Michael nor Albert are correct”

disjunctiongrammatical-numberneither-norquantifiersverb-agreement

What is the correct sentence?

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct.

Neither Michael nor Albert are correct.

Best Answer

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct — this is the correct version per prescriptive rules.

Based on my understanding of grammar lessons,

  • When connecting singular nouns, use a singular verb:

    Neither Jacob nor Jane is coming to the party.

  • When connecting plural nouns, use a plural verb:

    Neither the Jones nor the Smiths are coming to the party.

  • When combining singular and plural nouns, the agreement is decided by the noun that is closer to the verb:

    • Neither the boys nor Susan is coming to the party.
      ⇑ Verb determined by Susan.

    • Neither Susan nor the boys are coming.
      ⇑ Verb determined by the boys.

    (Some books say it's better to put the plural noun closer to the verb and use the plural form of the verb.)

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