Either...Or / Neither...Nor Quiz | Intermediate Level | 20 Questions & Answers with Explanations

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the board of directors" (a singular collective noun acting as a unit), so a singular verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Either the shareholders or the board of directors is ultimately responsible for approving the merger."

Memory hook: collective nouns like "board" count as singular for this rule too — apply the same nearer-subject logic regardless of whether the nearer noun is an ordinary singular noun or a collective one.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the accused" (in legal English, "the accused" can refer to a single defendant and takes a singular verb in this context), and the relative clause "who had remained silent throughout the trial" is a distractor separating the subject from the verb.

Correct sentence: "Neither the witnesses nor the accused, who had remained silent throughout the trial, was willing to answer further questions."

Memory hook: don't let a relative clause sitting between the nearer subject and the verb distract you — mentally bracket it out and check "accused...was/were" directly.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "his advisors" (plural), and "despite hours of internal debate" is a distractor phrase separating the subject from the verb.

Correct sentence: "Neither the minister nor his advisors, despite hours of internal debate, were able to reach a final decision."

Memory hook: a descriptive phrase between the nearer subject and the verb (however dramatic or lengthy) doesn't change which noun governs agreement — it's still the noun immediately before "either...or/neither...nor" structure's second half.

This uses plain "or" (without "either"), but the same nearer-subject rule applies — "his assistants" (plural) is the nearer subject, so a plural verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "The manager or his assistants are usually available to help customers with complaints."

Memory hook: "or" alone, without "either," follows the exact same nearer-subject logic — don't assume the rule only applies when "either" is explicitly present.

This uses plain "or," and the nearer subject, "their union representative" (singular), governs the verb.

Correct sentence: "The employees or their union representative is expected to present the demands at tomorrow's meeting."

Memory hook: reinforcing that plain "or" behaves identically to "either...or" — always check the noun immediately before the verb.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the accompanying report" (singular), so a singular verb ("has") is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither the results of the survey nor the accompanying report has been released to the public yet."

Memory hook: "results" earlier in the sentence is plural, but it's the first subject, not the nearer one — "report" right before the verb is what actually governs.

This reverses the order — now "the results of the survey" (plural, since "results" is the head noun) is the nearer subject, so a plural verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither the accompanying report nor the results of the survey have been released to the public yet."

Memory hook: this pairs directly with Q6 — same two subjects, reversed order, opposite verb form; always identify the head noun of the nearer subject phrase correctly.

Both "principal" and "vice-principal" are singular, so the verb should be singular — "were available" is incorrect; it should be "was available."

Correct sentence: "Neither the principal nor the vice-principal was available to sign the transfer certificate before the office closed."

Memory hook: when both subjects joined by neither/nor are clearly singular, this is the simple both-singular case from the beginner level — don't overthink it into a nearer-subject question when it doesn't need to be one.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the landlord" (singular), so a singular verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Either the tenants or the landlord is responsible for repairing the broken fence, according to the lease agreement."

Memory hook: "according to the lease agreement" at the end of the sentence doesn't affect the subject-verb agreement earlier — check only what's directly relevant to the either/or structure.

The nearer subject is "the players" (plural), so the verb should be plural — "was informed" is incorrect; it should be "were informed."

Correct sentence: "Neither the coach nor the players were informed about the change in the match schedule until the very last minute."

Memory hook: this is the classic reversed-order trap — the singular subject appears first, but the plural subject sits closer to the verb and governs the agreement.

This uses plain "or," and the nearer subject, "the investigating officer" (singular), governs the verb.

Correct sentence: "The witnesses or the investigating officer is likely to be called back for further questioning."

Memory hook: reinforcing once more that plain "or" (without "either") still follows the identical nearer-subject rule as "either...or."

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the cabin crew" (a collective noun that, in this context describing multiple individuals — "all of whom" — functions as plural), so a plural verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither the pilot nor the cabin crew, all of whom had undergone extensive safety training, were prepared for such an unusual emergency."

Memory hook: "all of whom" is a strong signal that "crew" is being treated as multiple individuals here (plural), rather than as one unified acting body (which would be singular) — context can shift how a collective noun is treated.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "the individual flat owners" (plural), so a plural verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Either the tenants' association or the individual flat owners are required to pay for the elevator's repair."

Memory hook: notice "tenants' association" (a collective noun, singular) appears first, but "flat owners" (clearly plural) is nearer and governs the verb.

This reverses the order — now "the tenants' association" (singular collective noun) is the nearer subject, so a singular verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither the flat owners nor the tenants' association is required to pay for the elevator's repair."

Memory hook: this pairs directly with Q13 — same two subjects, reversed order, opposite verb form, reinforcing the nearer-subject principle one more time.

The nearer subject is "her assistants" (plural), so the verb should be plural — "has found" is incorrect; it should be "have found."

Correct sentence: "Either the auditor or her assistants, who had spent the entire week reviewing the accounts, have found several discrepancies."

Memory hook: the relative clause "who had spent the entire week..." describes "assistants" but doesn't change the plural agreement it already establishes — it's simply extra description layered on top of the nearer, plural subject.

This uses plain "or," and the nearer subject, "its subsidiaries" (plural), governs the verb.

Correct sentence: "The company or its subsidiaries are liable for any damages resulting from the product defect."

Memory hook: this reinforces the plain "or" pattern in a more formal, legal-sounding context — the underlying rule remains completely unaffected by register or subject matter

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "its various agencies" (plural), so a plural verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither the government nor its various agencies have taken sufficient action to address the crisis."

Memory hook: "government," though singular as a collective noun, is not the nearer subject here — "agencies" sits right before the verb and determines the agreement.

This reverses the order — now "the government itself" (singular) is the nearer subject, so a singular verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Neither its various agencies nor the government itself has taken sufficient action to address the crisis."

Memory hook: "itself" added after "government" doesn't change the noun's number — it's simply an intensifying pronoun; "government" remains singular and, as the nearer subject here, governs the verb.

The nearer subject is "the pilot" (singular), so the verb should be singular — "were consulted" is incorrect; it should be "was consulted."

Correct sentence: "Either the passengers or the pilot, who had raised concerns about the weather conditions earlier, was consulted before the flight was delayed."

Memory hook: don't let the plural "passengers" appearing first pull you toward a plural verb — "pilot," sitting immediately before the verb (with only a relative clause in between), is what actually governs.

The verb agrees with the nearer subject, "their supervising professor" (singular), so a singular verb is correct.

Correct sentence: "Either the researchers or their supervising professor is expected to present the findings at the conference."

Memory hook: as a final reinforcement across this level — always find the noun sitting immediately before the verb in an either/or or neither/nor sentence, regardless of how many words or descriptive phrases come before it in the sentence overall.