Subject-Verb Agreement with "Either Or" and "Neither Nor"
Learn subject-verb agreement with either/or and neither/nor, including the nearest-subject rule, person agreement, common exam traps, and practice.
Either/or and neither/nor create agreement problems because they connect two possible subjects, but those subjects may not have the same number.
Incorrect: Either Ram or his friends is coming.
Correct: Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Now reverse the order:
Correct: Either his friends or Ram is coming.
The meaning is similar, but the verb changes because the subject nearest to the verb changes. This is why the topic is so common in error spotting and sentence correction.
The same pattern appears with neither/nor:
Incorrect: Neither the students nor the teacher are ready.
Correct: Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
The verb follows the nearer subject: teacher.
For related agreement traps, see Subject-Verb Agreement with “As Well As” and Subject-Verb Agreement with “One of”.
Either…or connects alternatives. It means one option or the other.
Either the manager or the assistants will call you.
Neither…nor connects two negative alternatives. It means not this and not that.
Neither the manager nor the assistants have called.
When the two subjects are joined by either/or or neither/nor, the verb often agrees with the subject closest to it, especially when the subjects differ in number or person.
Rule box: With either/or and neither/nor, make the verb agree with the nearer subject. Also keep both sides of the structure parallel.
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.
This is often called the proximity rule or nearest-subject rule.
| 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. |
When both subjects are singular, the verb is singular:
Either the pen or the pencil is missing.
Neither Riya nor Meera has replied.
When both subjects are plural, the verb is plural:
Either the boys or the girls are responsible.
Neither the teachers nor the students were informed.
The real difficulty appears when one subject is singular and the other is plural.
Number is not the only issue. Person also matters.
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.
The verb agrees with the nearer subject:
- I am
- you are
- he/she/it is/has/does
- they are/have/do
However, sentences like Either you or I am wrong can sound awkward, even when grammatically defensible. In natural writing, it is often better to rewrite:
One of us is wrong.
Either you are wrong, or I am.
With correlative conjunctions, the two parts should match grammatically:
Better: Either the manager or the assistant will call.
Weak: Either the manager or calling the assistant will solve it.
The same applies to neither/nor:
Better: Neither the teacher nor the students were informed.
Weak: Neither the teacher nor informing the students helped.
Parallelism makes the sentence easier to read and easier to correct.
Use this method when solving exam questions.
- Find the pair: either…or or neither…nor.
- Identify the two subjects joined by the pair.
- Look at the subject nearest to the verb.
- Choose the verb that agrees with that nearer subject.
- Check person agreement: I am, you are, he/she has, they have.
- Check whether the sentence would be clearer if rewritten.
Either Ram or his friends is/are coming.
The nearer subject is friends, plural. Correct:
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Neither the students nor the teacher is/are ready.
The nearer subject is teacher, singular. Correct:
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Either you or I is/am/are wrong.
The nearer subject is I. Correct:
Either you or I am wrong.
A smoother rewrite is:
One of us is wrong.
-
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
The nearer subject friends is plural. -
Either his friends or Ram is coming.
The nearer subject Ram is singular. -
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
The nearer subject teacher is singular. -
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
The nearer subject students is plural. -
Either the manager or the assistants have the files.
Assistants is nearest to the verb. -
Either the assistants or the manager has the files.
Manager is nearest to the verb. -
Either you or I am wrong.
The verb agrees with I. -
Either I or you are responsible.
The verb agrees with you. -
Neither he nor she has answered.
She is singular, so use has. -
Neither she nor they have answered.
They is plural, so use have.
Incorrect: Either Ram or his friends is coming.
Correct: Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Do not automatically agree with the first subject. With either/or and neither/nor, the nearer subject usually controls the verb.
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
Both sentences may refer to the same people, but the verb changes because the order changes.
This is similar to Subject-Verb Agreement with “As Well As”, where word order also affects the correct verb.
Incorrect in formal agreement: Either you or I are wrong.
Correct: Either you or I am wrong.
The nearer subject is I, so formal grammar requires am. But this sounds stiff to many speakers. Good writing often avoids the awkward form:
Either you are wrong, or I am.
One of us is wrong.
Incorrect: Neither he nor she have answered.
Correct: Neither he nor she has answered.
The nearer subject she takes has. The negative meaning of neither does not make the verb plural.
Weak: Either the students must submit the form or the teacher.
Better: Either the students or the teacher must submit the form.
Both sides of either/or and neither/nor should be grammatically balanced. If one side is a noun phrase, the other side should usually be a noun phrase too.
In conversation, many speakers choose the verb that sounds natural, especially with mixed-person subjects. In exams and formal writing, use the nearer-subject rule. If the result sounds awkward, rewrite the sentence instead of forcing a strange-looking construction.
| Mistake | Correct Form | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Either Ram or his friends is coming. | Either Ram or his friends are coming. | Friends is nearer and plural. |
| Neither the students nor the teacher are ready. | Neither the students nor the teacher is ready. | Teacher is nearer and singular. |
| Either you or I are wrong. | Either you or I am wrong. | I takes am. |
| Neither he nor she have answered. | Neither he nor she has answered. | She takes has. |
| Either the books or the file are missing. | Either the books or the file is missing. | File is nearer and singular. |
| Neither the manager nor the workers has agreed. | Neither the manager nor the workers have agreed. | Workers is nearer and plural. |
Choose the correct option or correct the error.
- 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 is nearer and plural.
- is — teacher is nearer and singular.
- am — I takes am.
- has — she takes 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 is nearer and singular.
- Either my parents or my brother has the key.
- Either you are responsible, or I am.
Either/or and neither/nor connect alternatives, not ordinary compound subjects like and.
Rule box: With either/or and neither/nor, the verb usually agrees with the subject closest to it.
Memory trick:
Look right before the verb. The nearer subject usually decides the verb.
Final examples:
Either Ram or his friends are coming.
Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
Either you or I am wrong — but One of us is wrong sounds smoother.