David Auerbach wrote:
And certainly,
Either Jack or Jill spit up
is best regarded as the disjunction of two statements, rather than being
about a strange disjunctive entity.
And that's why compound subjects (the term is not, perhaps, the
most precise) joined by _and_ take a plural verb, but those
joined by _or_ or _nor_ (unless both are plural or the one
nearest the verb is plural) take a singular verb.
The mayor and the aldermen are determined...
Either the mayor or one of the aldermen is required to sign the
permit.
Neither the mayor nor Alderman Smith is in favor of the proposal.
--
Patricia M. Godfrey
priscamg@xxxxxxxx