Which one of the following is correct?
Correct answer: A. Neither the teacher nor the students like grammar
- A. Neither the teacher nor the students like grammar
- B. Neither the teacher nor the students likes grammar
- C. Either the students nor the teacher likes grammar
- D. Neither the teacher nor the students like grammars
Explanation
The correct answer is Neither the teacher nor the students like grammar because the subject 'students' is closest to the verb and is plural, which requires the plural verb 'like.' The other options are incorrect for the following reasons:Neither the teacher nor the students likes grammar: This uses the singular verb 'likes,' which does not agree with the plural subject 'students.'Either the students nor the teacher likes grammar: This incorrectly uses 'either...nor' instead of 'either...or,' and 'likes' does not agree with the plural subject 'students.'Neither the teacher nor the students like grammars: Although 'like' is correctly used, 'grammars' should be replaced with the singular 'grammar' to refer to the subject properly.
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About Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement requires the verb to match the true subject in number and person, even when other words intervene. Questions cover collective nouns, compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, either and neither, relative clauses, quantities and inverted sentences, where proximity can falsely suggest the wrong verb.
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