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subject-verb agreement: OR

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subject-verb agreement: OR

by sdilmanian » Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:45 pm
I learned that for "neither X nor Y", the following verb must agree in number with noun Y.
What about two nouns (one plural, one singular) that are connected only by "or"? Does the verb here also agree with the noun nearest to the verb?
e.g. "The boys or Mary IS going to pick you up."
or is it "The boys or Mary ARE going to pick you up."

Thanks!
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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:56 pm
"Either...or" functions the same way as "neither...nor."

"Either the boys or Mary IS going to pick you up."

The noun closest to the verb controls.
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by sdilmanian » Sat Jul 16, 2011 7:10 am
Thanks David, but what about only "or", when there is no "either" before it in the sentence.
"The boys or Mary is/are going to pick you up."
Can it even be a correct sentence without the "either"?
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