English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
CONCORD
Neither he nor I ~are~ ready for this stress (nonstandard).
Neither he nor I *am* ready for this stress (standard).
When conjunctions such as “either…or” or “neither…nor” join two nouns or pronouns, the one before the verb controls the verb:
Either the girl or his brothers ~is~ expected here. ❌
Either the girl or his brothers *are* expected here. ✅
Dr GAB with his friends ~are~ here now (nonstandard).
Dr GAB with his friends *is* here (standard).
When conjunctions such as “with”, “together with”, “as well as” and “in association with” join two nouns or pronouns, the first noun or pronoun controls the verb:
LASU in association with some other schools ~organise~ the programme yearly. ❌
LASU in association with some other schools *organises* the programme yearly. ✅
GAB
No comment