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 nor, so the verb agrees with the singular subject that is closer. 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 or, so the verb agrees with the first plural subject.

Answer 1

Answer:

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

Explanation:

In the given sentence,

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

the sentence uses the comparative "neither......nor" form where the sentence is more of the negative sense.

With this use of comparative form, the use of the word "nor' in the sentence as a connection makes the use of the verb in the sentence right. With the connecting word "nor", the verb used will agree with the subject that is closer to it, i.e, "the mayor" which is singular. Verbs in this type of comparative forms will take the side of the subject nearest to it.

Thus, the correct answer is the first option.

Answer 2

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

The answer listed above is correct.