- Either you or he is to blame.
- Neither you nor he is an Austrian.
- Neither John nor we were at home.
- Neither the mayor nor the aldermen favor this law.
But colloquial usage varies, and such expressions are avoided by careful writers. The following sentences show how this may be done:—
- Either you are to blame, or he is.
- One of you two is to blame.
- Neither of you is an Austrian.
- He is not afraid; neither am I.
- Both John and we were away from home.
227. In such expressions as the following, the subject is not compound, and the verb agrees with its singular subject:—
- The governor with his staff is present.
- John, as well as Mary, is in London.
- Tom, along with his friends Dick and Bob, is taking a sail.
228. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in sense commonly take a verb in the singular number ([§ 84]).
- Economics is an important study.
- The gallows has been abolished in Massachusetts.
In some words usage varies. Thus, pains, in the sense of care or effort, is sometimes regarded as a singular and sometimes as a plural.
Great pains has (or have) been taken about the matter.
229. Collective nouns take sometimes a singular and sometimes a plural verb.