neither of these books are any good to me ( spot the error)
Answers
Answer:
Either means ‘any one of two’. It takes a singular verb and, like neither, can be used by itself or followed by a noun/pronoun or by of + the/these/those etc.
Explanation:
No. The word “either” is considered singular (cf., “either one”). Therefore, the correct form would be “Either of the books is readable.” This could also be expressed as “Either one of the books is readable.”
I would write it as follows:
“Either book is readable”
Either takes singular unlike ‘both' which requires plural subject or verb.
Here are examples:
French and English are closer to each other than either language is to Chinese.
You may take either road.
You may choose either answer.
As previous answers have pointed out, the sentence is wrong due to subject-verb agreement.
Although “books” is indeed plural, “either of the books”, much like “each of the books” is singular as both refer to only one book.
As the subject “each of the books” is singular, (only referring to one book) the verb must also correspond to the plural/singular characteristic of the subject in order to obey the subject-verb agreement law.
Thus:
“Either of the books (singular) are (plural) readable.” is wrong.
“Either of the books (singular) is readable” is correct.
In addition,
“Both of the books (plural) are (plural) readable.” is correct.
As long as the subject and verb are both singular or both plural, it will not violate subject-verb agreement.
I nearly forgot about this ‘zombie rule’ in English until this question cropped up.
“None” can be singular or plural — yet many people believe it can only be singular.
Professional editor’s protip follows:—
AS SINGULAR
“None” is singular (is):—
when it means roughly “not one” in the sentence structure
and/or when followed by a mass/uncountable noun
Example:— None of the water is polluted. — (Not one & a mass noun)
AS PLURAL
“None” is plural (are):—
when it means roughly “not any” in the sentence structure
and/or your sentence has a sense of plurality — most usually, followed by or connected with countable nouns
Example:— I talked to the girls, and none of them are coming to the party.
Most usually, you will be reprimanded for using “none” with ‘are’ — but don’t be afraid to use ‘are’ if your sentence calls for it.
The general rule is that when two elements of the subject of a sentence are joined by “or,” the verb must agree with the part of the subject that’s closer in the sentence to the verb. “Either this one or those two are defective” would be correct. “Either those two or this one is defective” would also be correct.
Now, having said that about the general rule, let’s talk about “he or you.” As a matter of courtesy to the person with whom we’re speaking, we normally put “you” ahead of other pronouns, nouns or names. As a matter of courtesy, it’s customary to say, “You, your brother and I,” with “you” first, and to avoid saying, “I, your brother and you.” Most English speakers whom I know would courteously say “you or he” in almost any situation rather than “he or you” even where “he or you” might be grammatically correct. Are you still with me? This is tough going.
Neither of these books are any good to me
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Neither of these books are any good to me ( spot the error
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