Subject-Verb Agreement: Either...Or / Neither...Nor Quiz | Advanced Level | 30 Questions & Answers with Explanations

The nearer subject is "the various regulatory bodies" (plural; "overseeing the banking sector" is a participial phrase describing it, not changing its number), so the verb should be plural — "was able" is incorrect; it should be "were able."

Correct sentence: "Neither the finance ministry nor the various regulatory bodies overseeing the banking sector were able to prevent the sudden market collapse."

Memory hook: a participial phrase attached to the nearer subject ("overseeing the banking sector") is a distractor, not a signal — always trace back to the actual head noun of the nearer subject phrase.

The nearer subject is "the independent auditor" (singular; "engaged specifically for this review" is a participial phrase, not the subject itself), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the audit committee or the independent auditor engaged specifically for this review is expected to flag any irregularities in the accounts."

Memory hook: whenever a participial or prepositional phrase sits between the nearer subject and the verb, mentally strip it away first — "auditor...is expected" is the real skeleton of the sentence.

The nearer subject is "the driver himself" (singular; "himself" is simply an intensifying pronoun, not a plural marker), so the verb should be singular — "were aware" is incorrect; it should be "was aware."

Correct sentence: "Neither the passengers seated in the front row nor the driver himself was aware that the brakes had begun to fail."

Memory hook: reflexive/intensifying pronouns like "himself," "herself," and "itself" never change a noun's grammatical number — "driver himself" is still simply singular "driver."

The nearer subject is "the building's management committee" (a singular collective noun acting as a unit; "which meets only once a quarter" is a relative clause describing it, not changing its number), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the tenants occupying the ground floor or the building's management committee, which meets only once a quarter, is authorised to approve structural changes."

Memory hook: a collective noun (committee, board, panel) as the nearer subject stays singular even when further described by its own relative clause — two layers of distraction don't add up to a rule change

This sentence is correct — the nearer subject is "the company's outgoing chairman" (singular), correctly taking the singular verb "was willing," with "present at the emergency meeting" functioning only as a distractor describing "shareholders," not the actual governing subject.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: don't assume every advanced-level either/or or neither/nor sentence must contain an error — confidently recognising correct nearer-subject agreement is just as important a skill as catching mistakes.

The nearer subject is "the several editors" (plural; "who worked on subsequent revisions" is a relative clause describing them, not changing their number), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the manuscript's original author or the several editors who worked on subsequent revisions are responsible for the factual inaccuracies that were later discovered."

Memory hook: "several" is itself a strong plural marker attached directly to the noun — combined with the noun "editors," there's no ambiguity about the nearer subject's number here.

The nearer subject is "the presiding judge" (singular; "both of whom had reviewed the evidence extensively" is a distractor clause describing both subjects collectively but doesn't override the core neither/nor nearer-subject rule), so the verb should be singular — "were surprised" is incorrect; it should be "was surprised."

Correct sentence: "Neither the defendant's legal team nor the presiding judge, both of whom had reviewed the evidence extensively, was surprised by the jury's verdict."

Memory hook: a "both of whom" clause referring back to both subjects together doesn't override the nearer-subject rule for neither/nor — the specific mechanical rule for this construction takes priority over what might otherwise seem like a natural plural cue.

The nearer subject is "the branch managers" (plural; "stationed across the northern zone" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the regional office or the branch managers stationed across the northern zone are tasked with implementing the new reporting protocol."

Memory hook: this reinforces stripping away participial phrases before checking agreement — "managers...are tasked" is the real underlying structure.

The nearer subject is "its current CEO" (singular; "appointed only last year after a lengthy search" is a participial phrase describing the CEO, not changing the number), so the verb should be singular — "have expressed" is incorrect; it should be "has expressed."

Correct sentence: "Neither the corporation's founding partners nor its current CEO, appointed only last year after a lengthy search, has expressed any interest in relocating the headquarters."

Memory hook: a lengthy participial phrase between the nearer subject and the verb is simply a longer version of the same distractor pattern tested throughout this topic — length alone never changes the underlying grammar.

The nearer subject is "the follow-up interviews" (plural; "conducted with a smaller sample group" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the survey's initial findings or the follow-up interviews conducted with a smaller sample group are likely to inform the final recommendations."

Memory hook: notice "findings" (the first subject) is also plural, but it's not the nearer one — always locate the noun immediately adjacent to the "or/nor" structure's second half before the verb.

The nearer subject is "the two deputy commissioners" (plural; "assisting with the relief operations" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the district magistrate or the two deputy commissioners assisting with the relief operations are authorised to release emergency funds."

Memory hook: "two" attached directly to the noun is an unambiguous plural marker — combined with the participial phrase distractor, this remains a straightforward nearer-subject case once you strip away the description.

The nearer subject is "the newly elected chairperson" (singular; "who takes office next month" is a relative clause describing the chairperson, not changing the number), so the verb should be singular — "are expected" is incorrect; it should be "is expected."

Correct sentence: "Neither the outgoing board members nor the newly elected chairperson, who takes office next month, is expected to alter the company's core strategy."

Memory hook: even a relative clause containing its own verb ("takes office") doesn't affect the main sentence's agreement — that clause has its own internal subject-verb pair, separate from the main sentence's structure.

The nearer subject is "the visiting research fellow" (singular; "overseeing the trial" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the laboratory's senior technicians or the visiting research fellow overseeing the trial is required to document every anomaly observed during testing."

Memory hook: "technicians" (plural, first subject) is again a strong but ultimately irrelevant distractor — the fellow, singular and nearer, governs the verb.

This sentence is correct — the nearer subject is "the plant's general manager" (singular), correctly taking "was willing," with the relative clause "who had negotiated similar disputes in the past" functioning purely as description, not as a factor changing agreement.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: this reinforces recognising correctness at the advanced level — a well-formed sentence with a long relative clause is not automatically an error simply because of its length or complexity.

The nearer subject is "the private contractors" (plural; "hired to resurface the roads" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the municipal corporation or the private contractors hired to resurface the roads are liable for any damage caused to nearby properties."

Memory hook: "municipal corporation" (singular, first subject) contains the word "corporation," which can sometimes mislead students into overthinking — but since it's not the nearer subject here, its own number is irrelevant to the final answer.

The nearer subject is "the smaller sample" (singular; "drawn from rural districts" is a participial phrase, not the subject — and "sample" itself, though it refers to multiple people, is grammatically a singular collective noun here), so the verb should be singular — "were fully representative" is incorrect; it should be "was fully representative."

Correct sentence: "Neither the survey respondents from urban areas nor the smaller sample drawn from rural districts was fully representative of the national population."

Memory hook: "sample" is a subtle collective-noun trap — even though a sample consists of many people, the word itself is grammatically singular, just like "committee" or "panel."

The nearer subject is "the newly appointed operations director" (singular), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the two co-founders or the newly appointed operations director is expected to address employee concerns directly."

Memory hook: "two co-founders" (explicitly plural, first subject) is a strong distractor, but since it isn't the nearer subject, its clear plurality doesn't matter for the final agreement.

The nearer subject is "the flight's senior purser" (singular; "who has final authority over cabin decisions" is a relative clause describing the purser, not changing the number), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the airline's ground staff or the flight's senior purser, who has final authority over cabin decisions, is empowered to deny boarding in such circumstances."

Memory hook: "staff" (the first subject) is itself a classic collective/uncountable-feeling noun, but since it isn't nearer here, its own singular/plural treatment doesn't factor into this particular sentence's answer.

The nearer subject is "the forensic expert" (singular; "called in for a second opinion" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be singular — "have altered" is incorrect; it should be "has altered."

Correct sentence: "Neither the prosecution's key witnesses nor the forensic expert called in for a second opinion has altered his or her original testimony" (or, retaining the original pronoun): "...has altered their original testimony."

Memory hook: "witnesses" (plural, first subject) is again a tempting but ultimately irrelevant distractor — "expert," singular and nearer, is what determines the verb, even though "their" later in the sentence might feel slightly at odds with a singular verb (a common and generally accepted usage in modern English for a person of unspecified gender).

The nearer subject is "the third-party auditor" (singular; "engaged for an independent review" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is singular.

Correct sentence: "Either the ministry's own inspectors or the third-party auditor engaged for an independent review is scheduled to visit the facility next week."

Memory hook: "inspectors" (plural, first subject) continues the now-familiar pattern of a plausible but ultimately irrelevant distractor at the start of the sentence.

The nearer subject is "the two assessors" (plural; "appointed to assist him" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be plural — "was able" is incorrect; it should be "were able."

Correct sentence: "Neither the tribunal's presiding officer nor the two assessors appointed to assist him were able to complete the review within the stipulated deadline."

Memory hook: "two" attached directly to "assessors" is another unambiguous plural marker, reinforcing that once description is stripped away, the core nearer-subject noun's own number is usually easy to spot.

The nearer subject is "the extended protection plans" (plural; "offered at checkout" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the vendor's standard warranty or the extended protection plans offered at checkout are sufficient to cover accidental damage."

Memory hook: this reinforces the pattern one more time in a consumer/commercial context — the underlying grammar mechanics remain identical regardless of subject matter.

The nearer subject is "the quality assurance lead" (singular; "responsible for final testing" is a participial-like phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be singular — "were able" is incorrect; it should be "was able."

Correct sentence: "Neither the software's core developers nor the quality assurance lead responsible for final testing was able to reproduce the reported bug."

Memory hook: "developers" (plural, first subject) is a strong technical-sounding distractor, but "lead," singular and nearer, is what actually governs the verb here.

The nearer subject is "the two private companies" (plural; "contracted for maintenance" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the city's water board or the two private companies contracted for maintenance are accountable for the recent contamination incident."

Memory hook: "board," a collective noun (singular, first subject), is another familiar-looking distractor — but the explicitly plural "two companies," nearer to the verb, decides the answer.

The nearer subject is "the company's chief negotiator" (singular), so the verb should be singular — "have budged" is incorrect; it should be "has budged."

Correct sentence: "Neither the negotiating team representing the workers nor the company's chief negotiator has budged from their original position after three rounds of talks" (or retaining "positions" if referring to multiple points of contention).

Memory hook: "team" (a collective noun, singular, first subject, further described by "representing the workers") is yet another layered distractor — but "negotiator," clearly singular and nearer, is what actually governs.

The nearer subject is "the various lower courts" (plural; "that previously ruled on this matter" is a relative clause describing the courts, not changing the number), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the appellate court or the various lower courts that previously ruled on this matter are likely to have the final say in this long-running dispute."

Memory hook: "various" attached directly to "courts" reinforces the plural reading — combined with the relative clause distractor, the underlying structure is still just "courts...are likely."

The nearer subject is "the counteroffers" (plural; "submitted during negotiations" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be plural — "was acceptable" is incorrect; it should be "were acceptable."

Correct sentence: "Neither the client's original proposal nor the counteroffers submitted during negotiations were acceptable to both parties involved."

Memory hook: "proposal" (singular, first subject) is the more tempting-looking subject purely due to its position, but "counteroffers," plural and nearer, governs the final verb.

The nearer subject is "the newly proposed amendments" (plural; "awaiting parliamentary approval" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb is plural.

Correct sentence: "Either the regulatory framework currently in place or the newly proposed amendments awaiting parliamentary approval are likely to shape the industry's future for decades to come."

Memory hook: as a final, comprehensive reinforcement across this entire topic — no matter how many layers of participial phrases, relative clauses, or descriptive detail are stacked around the nearer subject, the core skill never changes: find the noun immediately governing the "or/nor" structure closest to the verb, and match the verb to it alone.

The nearer subject is "the letter of recommendation" (singular; "submitted by her thesis advisor" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be singular — "were sufficient" is incorrect; it should be "was sufficient."

Correct sentence: "Neither the applicant's academic transcripts nor the letter of recommendation submitted by her thesis advisor was sufficient to secure the scholarship."

Memory hook: "transcripts" (plural, first subject) is a strong distractor here, especially since it's genuinely plural — but "letter" is what's actually nearer, and it's clearly singular.

The nearer subject is "the subsequent findings" (plural; "presented by external consultants" is a participial phrase, not the subject), so the verb should be plural — "was conclusive" is incorrect; it should be "were conclusive."

Correct sentence: "Neither the compliance officer's initial report nor the subsequent findings presented by external consultants were conclusive enough to justify disciplinary action."

Memory hook: "report" (singular, first subject) is the more tempting-looking subject given its position at the sentence's start, but "findings," plural and nearer, is what actually governs the verb.