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.

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.

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

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT-4o]

The correct explanation for why the verb in the sentence "Neither the council members nor the mayor supports the new parking restrictions" is accurate is:

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

When you have a compound subject joined by "neither/nor," the verb should agree in number with the part of the subject that is closer to the verb. In this case, "mayor" (singular) is closer to the verb "supports," so the verb is singular.