"Neither Michael nor Albert is correct" or "Neither Michael nor Albert are correct"?

Question

What is the correct sentence?

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct.

Neither Michael nor Albert are correct.

Manjima · Accepted Answer

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct — this is the correct version per prescriptive  rules.

Based on my understanding of grammar lessons,

When connecting singular nouns, use a singular verb:

Neither Jacob nor Jane is coming to the party.

When connecting plural nouns, use a plural verb:

Neither the Jones nor the Smiths are coming to the party.

When combining singular and plural nouns, the agreement is decided by the noun that is closer to the verb:

Neither the boys nor Susan is coming to the party.⇑ Verb determined by Susan.
  Neither Susan nor the boys are coming.⇑ Verb determined by the boys.

(Some books say it's better to put the plural noun closer to the verb and use the plural form of the verb.)

References:

Capital Community College Guide to Grammar & Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement
esl.about.com English Tip of the Day: 170 Neither ... nor

Skilldrick · Answer

Rephrase it:

Not one of them is correct.

as opposed to:

Not one of them are correct.

QED :)

JSBձոգչ · Answer

This is correct:

Neither Michael nor Albert is correct.

Singular subjects joined with or or nor take singular verb agreement, so you also say:

Either Michael or Albert is incorrect.

FumbleFingers · Answer

I disagree with existing answers confidently claiming that Neither X nor Y is always singular. Assume for the sake of argument that you (reading this) are "you"...

Neither you nor I is likely to use the singular in this (self-referential) construction...

...which for my money suggests that around 1850 some pedantic grammarians started proposing that the singular should always be used, but the native speakers of English still aren't listening.

Here's another example from Google Books where the supposedly ungrammatical version dwarfs "correct" usage. Grammar is the codified description of what people actually say; it makes no sense to claim that what the overwhelming majority of native speakers prefer is "wrong".

neither he nor I are (About 2,500 results)
   neither he nor I am (About 13,400 results)
   neither he nor I is (About 743 results)

Will Crawford · Answer

Your first version sounds like it's the answer to a question like, "Which is your real name? Albert, or Michael?"

The second sounds normal to a native speaker :o)

"Neither Michael nor Albert is correct" or "Neither Michael nor Albert are correct"?

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