Question

Which rule best explains why the verb in the following sentence is correct?

Neither the council members nor the mayor supports the new parking restrictions.

-This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by or, so the verb agrees with the first plural subject.

-Both parts of the compound subject are singular, so a singular verb is used.

-Both parts of the compound subject are thought of as a single item, so a singular verb is used.

-This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by nor, so the verb agrees with the singular subject that is closer.

Answer 1

The rule that best explains why the verb in the given sentence is correct is:

- This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by nor, so the verb agrees with the singular subject that is closer.

In the sentence, the compound subject is "the council members" and "the mayor," connected by the conjunction "nor." According to subject-verb agreement rules, when a compound subject is connected by "nor" or "or," the verb should agree with the subject that is closer to it. In this case, "the mayor" is the closer subject and it is singular. Therefore, the singular verb "supports" is used to match the singular subject.