Question

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence:

Neither the manager nor the employees was available.

• A. was not available
• B. were also available
• C. were available
• D. was also not available

Answer 1

Answer:

C. were available

• Grammar Rule (Subject-Verb Agreement with Correlative Conjunctions): When two subjects are joined by 'neither... nor' or 'either... or', the verb must agree with the subject nearest to it (also known as the Rule of Proximity).

  • First Subject: the manager (singular)

  • Second Subject (closest to verb): the employees (plural)

  • Since the noun closest to the verb position is plural (employees), the verb must also be plural (were instead of was).

• Corrected Sentence: "Neither the manager nor the employees were available."