neither the students nor the teacher _______ present at the meeting yesterday.
A)was
B)had
C)were
D) is
Answers
C) were .....
Your answer
Answer:
Neither the students nor the teacher were present at the meeting yesterday
Explanation:
Correct option is c)
Let's examine the subject-verb agreement in order to choose the appropriate verb form to finish the sentence. When the subject is singular, the verb should also be in the singular form; likewise, when the subject is plural, the verb should also be in the plural form.
NOTE: 'Neither-nor' is a conjunction, which means none of the subjects/nouns/pronouns.
Also note: In case of 'either-or' or 'neither-no', if one of the subjects is plural, the verb should be in its plural form as well.
Let's have a look at the options:
Option a -When used with a singular subject, the verb form "was" is singular. Although the conjunction "neither-nor" often only has one topic, in this case there are many subjects. As was previously stated, if one of the subjects is multiple—particularly the subject coming before the verb—then the verb must also be plural. As a result, choice B is unsuitable.
Option d - When used with a singular subject, the verb form "is" is singular. As was previously stated, the subject of the provided phrase is plural, hence the word "is" cannot be used. Thus option C is incorrect.
Option c - The verb "were" has a plural form that is used with plural subjects. We may use the word "were" since the second subject in the sentence is plural. The sentence "Neither the instructor nor the pupils were in the classroom" is thus grammatically valid. As a result, choice A is the right response.
Option b-The verb have has the forms: have, has, having, had. The base form of the verb is have. The present participle is having. The past tense and past participle form is had.
Neither the students nor the teacher were present at the meeting yesterday