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Re: niether nor was or were?

I described very carefully in my previous answer the two possible conceptualisations of the OP's example, explaining why both singular and plural agreement are possible.


The agreement patterns in a neither nor coordination are:

1. neither sg nor sg = sg
2. neither sg nor pl = pl
3. neither pl nor sg = pl
4. neither pl nor pl = pl

And the patterns in an either or coordination are:

5. either sg or sg = sg
6. either sg or pl = sg/pl (many speakers would avoid this coordination altogether)
7. either pl or sg = sg/pl (many speakers would avoid this coordination altogether)
8. either pl or pl = pl





PaulM