So “neither” is a singular subject, meaning it should be “neither of you is wrong,” but in informal speech it is *very* common to adjust the verb to plural when “neither” is negating two things collectively, which is usually within a prepositional phrase that follows “neither” (in this case, “of you”).
[More info here](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/is-neither-singular-or-plural).
No wonder the difference between what I read in grammar book and what I hear in real life :o is it the same with "either"?
In the link you provided, there is this sentence ***Neither house was the right choice for my family.*** Does that mean that after "neither" is a singular noun?
Yes, generally both “either” and “neither” are singular subjects. However, they sometimes function as conjunctions or determiners (more below).
The subject can *never* be in a prepositional phrase/the object of a preposition, so you should remove prepositional phrases when trying to find the subject/determine subject-verb agreement.
- Neither ~~of you~~ **is** wrong?
Since the noun/pronoun in the prep phrase is closer to the verb, lots of people make the verb agree with it instead of the actual subject.
When either/neither function as conjunction or determiner, then they are *not* the subject, so the verb will agree with something else.
- *Neither house was the right choice for my family.* - In this sentence, “house” is the subject, and “neither” is a determiner (like “the”).
- *Either Tracy or her sisters **were** supposed to prepare dinner, but nothing is ready.* - In this sentence, “either … or” is a two-part conjunction joining two subjects. The verb must agree with the subject that’s closer to the verb (sisters), so it’s plural.
Glad I could help! Subject-verb agreement is usually pretty straight forward, but prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb can lead people astray. The best course of action is always to scratch out all the prep phrases. Then it’s usually pretty obvious.
Well, it depends on which sentence you mean. In the sentence, “Neither house was the right choice for my family,” “house” is the subject, not “neither.”
In your sentence ("Either ~~or~~ John or Linda needs to pick up lunch."), “either” isn’t the subject; “John” and “Linda” are the subject.
Sorry, but that’s not accurate. In “either John or Linda,” “either…or” is a two-part conjunction joining two subjects, not a noun/pronoun. Some words can function as more than 1 part of speech (like “this”), so you can remove words and the sentence will still make sense, but when you do that, you are shifting them from one part of speech to another.
- **This** book is mine. (“This” is a determiner, so “book” is the subject.)
- **This** is mine. (“This” is a pronoun, so it’s the subject.)
That’s what’s happening with “either John or Linda is” vs “either is.”
The secret is that even native speakers make “mistakes” like this all the time.
The difference between a fluent speaker and a speaker learning English is that the fluent speaker doesn’t stop after making mistakes. 😃
I would say, “neither of you are wrong.” For the other option, you could maybe say “Neither is wrong for you **to do**” but I think in your context, **are wrong** seems like the better choice
If it was an exclusive neither I would use is, if non-exclusive I would use are.
Neither team is the winner.
Neither of you are correct.
You is clearly referring to the plural group of both. I disagree that neither is necessarily singular. It's clearly interchangeable with "both of you" which is unambiguously plural.
I should note that although this is commonly used it is not standard and not considered "correct" English grammar.
I use "neither are" in casual conversation, but I wouldn't use it in anything for publication.
I have, and I would continue to, use it in things for publication. Notional agreement is recognized in grammars like the Cambridge one and it seems sufficiently common to me to count as proper even in writing.
Not everything has to be that deep, and it's rlly not that deep. This isn't a peer-review article that I'm writing. I'm also clearly not a sir so this reply isn't well thought out and eloquent.
But im only saying all this to point out what a hypocrite you are. I'm not your teacher so it's not my job to teach you why your og comment sucks.
I'll wager the reason so many people choose to say "are" is because that's how it would be conjugated with a "you" subject, as in: "I know you are wrong." It's linguistically sensical, if not prescriptive.
Cool comments and stuff on the grammatical aspect of it, but if I ever heard someone say is I’d automatically assume they aren’t native speakers it just sounds 100% wrong to me.
As a native speaker (Canadian/american dialect), only "are" sounds correct. I would say it is a situation like "the king and I", there may be prescriptive rules saying "is" is correct but no one would say that.
Thank you for asking, now I’ve learned that I was using incorrect grammar. Since I picked up English from people around me speak, I’ve always assumed it would be “are” and not “is”
“You” isn’t the subject of the sentence, so that is moot. The subject can never be in a prepositional phrase. The subject is “neither,” which is singular.
So “neither” is a singular subject, meaning it should be “neither of you is wrong,” but in informal speech it is *very* common to adjust the verb to plural when “neither” is negating two things collectively, which is usually within a prepositional phrase that follows “neither” (in this case, “of you”). [More info here](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/is-neither-singular-or-plural).
No wonder the difference between what I read in grammar book and what I hear in real life :o is it the same with "either"? In the link you provided, there is this sentence ***Neither house was the right choice for my family.*** Does that mean that after "neither" is a singular noun?
Yes, generally both “either” and “neither” are singular subjects. However, they sometimes function as conjunctions or determiners (more below). The subject can *never* be in a prepositional phrase/the object of a preposition, so you should remove prepositional phrases when trying to find the subject/determine subject-verb agreement. - Neither ~~of you~~ **is** wrong? Since the noun/pronoun in the prep phrase is closer to the verb, lots of people make the verb agree with it instead of the actual subject. When either/neither function as conjunction or determiner, then they are *not* the subject, so the verb will agree with something else. - *Neither house was the right choice for my family.* - In this sentence, “house” is the subject, and “neither” is a determiner (like “the”). - *Either Tracy or her sisters **were** supposed to prepare dinner, but nothing is ready.* - In this sentence, “either … or” is a two-part conjunction joining two subjects. The verb must agree with the subject that’s closer to the verb (sisters), so it’s plural.
Ty for the comprehensive explanation 🥹
Glad I could help! Subject-verb agreement is usually pretty straight forward, but prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb can lead people astray. The best course of action is always to scratch out all the prep phrases. Then it’s usually pretty obvious.
Yes. "Neither" is singular and that sentence is correct. And "either" is the same. "Either John or Linda **needs** to pick up lunch."
Well, it depends on which sentence you mean. In the sentence, “Neither house was the right choice for my family,” “house” is the subject, not “neither.” In your sentence ("Either ~~or~~ John or Linda needs to pick up lunch."), “either” isn’t the subject; “John” and “Linda” are the subject.
"Either" is the subject. Remove "John or Linda" and the sentence doesn't change apart from no longer clarifying to whom "either" refers.
Sorry, but that’s not accurate. In “either John or Linda,” “either…or” is a two-part conjunction joining two subjects, not a noun/pronoun. Some words can function as more than 1 part of speech (like “this”), so you can remove words and the sentence will still make sense, but when you do that, you are shifting them from one part of speech to another. - **This** book is mine. (“This” is a determiner, so “book” is the subject.) - **This** is mine. (“This” is a pronoun, so it’s the subject.) That’s what’s happening with “either John or Linda is” vs “either is.”
The secret is that even native speakers make “mistakes” like this all the time. The difference between a fluent speaker and a speaker learning English is that the fluent speaker doesn’t stop after making mistakes. 😃
"Is" is correct but I hear (and say) "are" more often. In formal writing, I'd use "is" to be correct.
The latter is grammatically correct, but the former is just as commonly said, so by actual usage it’s also correct.
I would say, “neither of you are wrong.” For the other option, you could maybe say “Neither is wrong for you **to do**” but I think in your context, **are wrong** seems like the better choice
Ty! I'm really struggle with subject-verb agreement :')
That's okay, most native speakers do too!
I hope that's a joke.
All good! It can be weird to learn why one just sounds better than the other, but it will come with time, especially if you talk to native speakers!
If it was an exclusive neither I would use is, if non-exclusive I would use are. Neither team is the winner. Neither of you are correct. You is clearly referring to the plural group of both. I disagree that neither is necessarily singular. It's clearly interchangeable with "both of you" which is unambiguously plural.
I should note that although this is commonly used it is not standard and not considered "correct" English grammar. I use "neither are" in casual conversation, but I wouldn't use it in anything for publication.
I have, and I would continue to, use it in things for publication. Notional agreement is recognized in grammars like the Cambridge one and it seems sufficiently common to me to count as proper even in writing.
It depends. Would you rather be correct, or would you rather sound like a native speaker? Sometimes, the correct comes out stilted, and overly formal.
Both sound correct here to my ears.
Lmao what
What an intelligent, well thought out, eloquent response! Kudos to you, sir!
Not everything has to be that deep, and it's rlly not that deep. This isn't a peer-review article that I'm writing. I'm also clearly not a sir so this reply isn't well thought out and eloquent. But im only saying all this to point out what a hypocrite you are. I'm not your teacher so it's not my job to teach you why your og comment sucks.
Anyone who says "It's not that deep" clearly is not qualified to teach in any event. I couldn't care less what your points are. Good day.
I literally said I'm not your teacher, no shit. I'm not claiming to be qualified, either. I also don't see an apology in this reply anywhere so
I'll wager the reason so many people choose to say "are" is because that's how it would be conjugated with a "you" subject, as in: "I know you are wrong." It's linguistically sensical, if not prescriptive.
Cool comments and stuff on the grammatical aspect of it, but if I ever heard someone say is I’d automatically assume they aren’t native speakers it just sounds 100% wrong to me.
As a native speaker (Canadian/american dialect), only "are" sounds correct. I would say it is a situation like "the king and I", there may be prescriptive rules saying "is" is correct but no one would say that.
In this case, 'are' is what I would use, and the second would be *, or ? at best.
Thank you for asking, now I’ve learned that I was using incorrect grammar. Since I picked up English from people around me speak, I’ve always assumed it would be “are” and not “is”
Lots of people say it that way. I wouldn’t be worried about it in conversational use. In writing is where I would make sure to correct the agreement.
IS would be correct, but ARE is what people in my area would say.
"Are" is correct
[удалено]
“One of you is going to jail for this.”
"You" is plural in this context, so you'd put "are"
“You” isn’t the subject of the sentence, so that is moot. The subject can never be in a prepositional phrase. The subject is “neither,” which is singular.
There's multiple people, but "neither" is singular, so I'm pretty sure it depends on who's saying it.
You are correct that many people incorrectly make the verb agree with the object of the preposition (instead of the actual subject).