<p>Either Don or you is going to lead the class discussion on Tuesday.</p>
<p>According to this rule: When a subject contains a pronoun that differs in person from a noun or another pronoun, the verb must agree with the closer subject word.</p>
<p>So it should be " Either Don or you are " then?</p>
<p>^you are correct.</p>
<p>^^ that answer is so ambiguous… anyawys… either/or is a singular noun, the originaly sentenced with “Either Don or you IS” is correct.</p>
<p>i believe. haha</p>
<p>^BUT the “YOU” in the sentence indicates that the proper verb usage is “ARE”</p>
<p>Singular nouns joined by or and nor need singular verbs, such as</p>
<p>A Coke or a Pepsi is what I thirst for. </p>
<p>But in my original example theres a noun and a personal pronoun and the rule changes.</p>
<p>Also, is it possible to say:</p>
<p>She and he is/are going to the movies?
If so, which would be the correct verb?</p>
<p>She and he are going to the movies.
The ‘and’ is the key word there, which means you use ‘are’ as a result.</p>
<p>So then, it should be</p>
<p>“In my hands are a pencil, a calculator, and a Blue Book.” Right?</p>
<p>“a pencil” really makes it sound incorrect.</p>
<p>^that is correct. The sentence you described has an inverted verb construction, which usually starts with a preposition and a verb followed by the nouns (hence the word inverted). Usually inverted verb constructions are signaled by a preposition in the beginning</p>
<p>How about this sentence, would it be correct? Doesn’t it follow the “either/or” rule?</p>
<p>Either the blue books or the red books is recommended.</p>
<p>^ I’m pretty sure it’s correct</p>
<p>The correct sentences are</p>
<p>Either Don or you are going to lead the class discussion on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Either the blue books or the red books are recommended.</p>
<p>
That’s not right. In either…or and neither…nor constructions, whether the verb is singular or plural depends on the number of the closest noun. “You” is singular in itself (i.e., notwithstanding the fact that it requires a plural verb), so you say, “Either Don or you is . . .” or “Neither Don nor you is. . . .”</p>
<p>Crazybandit,</p>
<p>According to my book, when a subject contains a pronoun that differs in person from a noun or another pronoun, the verb must agree with the closer subject word.</p>
<p>They give an example:
Neither Meredith nor you are expected to finish the work today.</p>
<p>yeah. When it’s either “either” or “Neither”, you take the second noun.</p>
<p>So, “Either my cars or your car is going to break”
or “Either your car or my cars are going to break”</p>
<p>I’d just like to add that some “experts” on writing assert that the presence of just one plural subject, regardless of its proximity to the verb, renders the sentence in requirement of a plural verb. There is also the proximity rule, which, converse to my first sentence, not every writer follows. There should never be a sentence in which the writer cannot simply move the plural subject closer to the verb, but I’m not sure what the SAT asks for. Most other grammar topics on it are universally accepted. </p>
<p>If it does come up on the next SAT, well, that wouldn’t be the first time a student provided an “incorrect” answer that can be justified with evidence from experts.</p>
<p>A sentence with the plural subject further from the verb than the singular would just be evil.</p>
<p>
What book?
Yes, but “you” is not really plural. It just requires a plural verb. It is not a plural pronoun or noun, so it does not count.</p>
<p>
“You” is a singular pronoun.
Source: <a href=“http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/eitherare.html[/url]”>http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/eitherare.html</a></p>
<p>Take this sentence for example:
“Neither he nor I am dead.”
This is incorrect and should sound wrong to you. “Am” should be is.</p>
<p>This isn’t really a topic for the SAT. But you should know it.</p>
<p>No, crazybandit, what you claim is not consistent with my understanding. In the constructions “either…or” and “neither…nor,” the verb must agree with the closer subject. If we are using the verb “to be,” “am” agrees with “I” and “are” agrees with “you.” You’re ungrammatically disregarding person and only looking at number.</p>
<p>barrons SAT writing workbook</p>