Subject-Verb Agreement with "Either Or" and "Neither Nor"
Either/or और neither/nor के साथ subject-verb agreement समझें: nearest-subject rule, person agreement, common exam traps और practice examples.
Either/or और neither/nor agreement problems बनाते हैं क्योंकि ये दो possible subjects को connect करते हैं, और दोनों subjects का number अलग हो सकता है।
गलत: Either Ram or his friends is coming.
सही: Either Ram or his friends are coming.
अब order reverse करें:
सही: Either his friends or Ram is coming.
Meaning similar है, लेकिन verb बदल गया क्योंकि verb के nearest subject बदल गया। इसी वजह से यह topic error spotting और sentence correction में बहुत common है।
Same pattern neither/nor के साथ भी आता है:
गलत: Neither the students nor the teacher are ready.
सही: Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Verb nearer subject teacher से agree करता है।
Related agreement traps के लिए Subject-Verb Agreement with “As Well As” और Subject-Verb Agreement with “One of” देखें।
Either…or alternatives connect करता है। Meaning है: one option or the other.
Either the manager or the assistants will call you.
Neither…nor दो negative alternatives connect करता है। Meaning है: not this and not that.
Neither the manager nor the assistants have called.
जब two subjects either/or या neither/nor से joined हों, तो verb often nearest subject से agree करता है, especially जब subjects number या person में different हों।
Rule box: Either/or और neither/nor के साथ verb को closest subject से agree कराएं। Structure parallel भी रखें।
Examples:
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Either his friends or Ram is coming.
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
इसे अक्सर proximity rule या nearest-subject rule कहा जाता है।
| Structure | Nearer Subject | Correct Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| either singular or singular | singular | singular | Either Ram or Shyam is responsible. |
| either singular or plural | plural | plural | Either Ram or his friends are coming. |
| either plural or singular | singular | singular | Either his friends or Ram is coming. |
| neither plural nor singular | singular | singular | Neither the students nor the teacher is ready. |
| neither singular nor plural | plural | plural | Neither the teacher nor the students are ready. |
जब दोनों subjects singular हों, verb singular होगा:
Either the pen or the pencil is missing.
Neither Riya nor Meera has replied.
जब दोनों subjects plural हों, verb plural होगा:
Either the boys or the girls are responsible.
Neither the teachers nor the students were informed.
Real difficulty तब आती है जब one subject singular हो और दूसरा plural।
Number ही issue नहीं है। Person भी matter करता है।
Either you or I am wrong.
Either I or you are wrong.
Neither he nor she has answered.
Neither they nor he has accepted the offer.
Verb nearest subject से agree करता है:
- I am
- you are
- he/she/it is/has/does
- they are/have/do
लेकिन Either you or I am wrong जैसे sentences grammatically defensible होते हुए भी awkward लग सकते हैं। Natural writing में rewrite बेहतर है:
One of us is wrong.
Either you are wrong, or I am.
Correlative conjunctions में दोनों parts grammatically match करने चाहिए:
Better: Either the manager or the assistant will call.
Weak: Either the manager or calling the assistant will solve it.
Same rule neither/nor के साथ:
Better: Neither the teacher nor the students were informed.
Weak: Neither the teacher nor informing the students helped.
Parallelism sentence को easier and cleaner बनाता है।
Exam questions solve करते समय यह method use करें:
- Pair find करें: either…or या neither…nor.
- दोनों joined subjects identify करें.
- Verb के closest subject को देखें.
- उसी nearest subject के according verb choose करें.
- Person agreement check करें: I am, you are, he/she has, they have.
- देखें कि sentence rewrite करने पर clearer होगा या नहीं.
Either Ram or his friends is/are coming.
Nearer subject friends plural है। Correct:
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Neither the students nor the teacher is/are ready.
Nearer subject teacher singular है। Correct:
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Either you or I is/am/are wrong.
Nearer subject I है। Correct:
Either you or I am wrong.
Smoother rewrite:
One of us is wrong.
-
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Nearer subject friends plural है। -
Either his friends or Ram is coming.
Nearer subject Ram singular है। -
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Nearer subject teacher singular है। -
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
Nearer subject students plural है। -
Either the manager or the assistants have the files.
Assistants verb के nearest है। -
Either the assistants or the manager has the files.
Manager verb के nearest है। -
Either you or I am wrong.
Verb I से agree करता है। -
Either I or you are responsible.
Verb you से agree करता है। -
Neither he nor she has answered.
She singular है, इसलिए has। -
Neither she nor they have answered.
They plural है, इसलिए have।
गलत: Either Ram or his friends is coming.
सही: Either Ram or his friends are coming.
First subject से automatically agree न करें। Either/or और neither/nor में nearest subject usually verb control करता है।
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
दोनों sentences same people को refer कर सकते हैं, लेकिन order बदलने से verb बदल जाता है।
यह Subject-Verb Agreement with “As Well As” से related है, जहाँ word order correct verb को affect करता है।
Formal agreement में गलत: Either you or I are wrong.
सही: Either you or I am wrong.
Nearer subject I है, इसलिए formal grammar में am चाहिए। लेकिन यह stiff लग सकता है। Good writing में rewrite करें:
Either you are wrong, or I am.
One of us is wrong.
गलत: Neither he nor she have answered.
सही: Neither he nor she has answered.
Nearer subject she है, इसलिए has। Neither का negative meaning verb को plural नहीं बनाता।
Weak: Either the students must submit the form or the teacher.
Better: Either the students or the teacher must submit the form.
Either/or और neither/nor के दोनों sides grammatically balanced होने चाहिए। अगर एक side noun phrase है, दूसरी side भी noun phrase होनी चाहिए।
Conversation में speakers अक्सर natural-sounding verb choose करते हैं, especially mixed-person subjects में। Exams और formal writing में nearest-subject rule use करें। अगर result awkward लगे, sentence rewrite कर दें।
| Mistake | Correct Form | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Either Ram or his friends is coming. | Either Ram or his friends are coming. | Friends nearer और plural है. |
| Neither the students nor the teacher are ready. | Neither the students nor the teacher is ready. | Teacher nearer और singular है. |
| Either you or I are wrong. | Either you or I am wrong. | I के साथ am. |
| Neither he nor she have answered. | Neither he nor she has answered. | She के साथ has. |
| Either the books or the file are missing. | Either the books or the file is missing. | File nearer और singular है. |
| Neither the manager nor the workers has agreed. | Neither the manager nor the workers have agreed. | Workers nearer और plural है. |
Correct option choose करें या error correct करें।
- Either Ram or his friends is/are coming.
- Neither the students nor the teacher is/are ready.
- Either you or I am/are wrong.
- Neither he nor she has/have answered.
- Error spotting: Either the books or the file are missing.
- Error spotting: Neither the manager nor the workers has agreed.
- Error spotting: Either the principal or the teachers is responsible.
- Fill in the blank: Neither the players nor the captain ___ available. (is/are)
- Rewrite correctly: Either my parents or my brother have the key.
- Rewrite more naturally: Either you or I am responsible.
- are — friends nearer और plural है.
- is — teacher nearer और singular है.
- am — I के साथ am.
- has — she के साथ has.
- Either the books or the file is missing.
- Neither the manager nor the workers have agreed.
- Either the principal or the teachers are responsible.
- is — captain nearer और singular है.
- Either my parents or my brother has the key.
- Either you are responsible, or I am.
Either/or और neither/nor alternatives connect करते हैं; ये ordinary and की तरह simple compound subject नहीं बनाते।
Rule box: Either/or और neither/nor के साथ verb usually closest subject से agree करता है।
Memory trick:
Verb से just पहले जो subject है, वही usually verb decide करता है।
Final examples:
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Either you or I am wrong — लेकिन One of us is wrong ज्यादा smooth है।