English Grammar - Subject Verb Agreement

English Grammar
English Grammar - Subject Verb Agreement

Select the correct option: Neither the editor nor the contributors ___ willing to accept the changes unconditionally.


Options:

  1. was
  2. were
  3. has been
  4. is

Right Answer: were

In 'neither...nor' constructions, the verb agrees with the subject that is nearer to it, a rule known as the 'proximity rule' in English grammar. Here, the subject nearer to the verb is 'the contributors', which is plural, so the verb must also be plural: 'were'. If the nearer subject were singular (like 'the editor'), a singular verb would be required instead. The options 'was', 'has been', and 'is' are all singular verb forms that would only be correct if the sentence structure placed a singular noun immediately before the verb. Since 'contributors' is plural and closest to the verb, 'were' is grammatically correct. The correct answer is option 2, were.

This question is part of English Grammar - Subject Verb Agreement, which has 4 practice questions with answers.

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