Speak good English: The verb TO BE
In last week's discussion, we said the verb TO BE is conjugated among the three personal pronouns I, YOU and HE/SHE/IT as follows
I AM YOU ARE HE/SHE/IT IS
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The plural forms of I, YOU and HE/SHE/IT are WE, YOU and THEY, respectively.
All these three plural forms agree with the plural verb ARE, as in:
WE ARE YOU ARE THEY ARE
Now, let's understand that this agreement between the personal pronouns and the verbs AM, ARE and IS must apply in all cases, no matter how the pronouns are combined, except in cases where the subjunctive mood is used (we will look at the subjunctive mood later).
In some sentences, we may have two or more of the personal pronouns in various combinations, as in:
You and I
He and you
Either you or I
Either he or you
He, you or I
He, you and I
Neither she nor I
Neither he nor you
Etc.
Most of us find it difficult to choose the correct verb after these combinations of personal pronouns. Egs:
- Either the man or I .... to blame.
- a) are b) is c) am d) has 2.
Neither she nor you ... ready for the meeting.
- a) is b) am c) to be d) are
Note that when the combinations are joined by the conjunction AND, automatically they become plural and must agree with plural verbs.
Egs: He and you ARE going to do the work.
You and I ARE expected to be there.
He, you and I ARE the main targets of the crooks.
She and I ARE great friends.
But when the combinations are joined by or and nor, they don't form plurals.
Egs: Either he or you ......
Neither you nor I ....
In such cases, the correct verb is determined by the pronoun closer to the verb. In grammar, this is called PROXIMITY CONCORD.
So in example 1 above: Either the man or I .... to blame
it is the pronoun I that must determine the correct verb because it is the item closer to the verb.
Therefore, the answer is AM, since the pronoun I agrees with the verb AM, not IS or ARE.
That sentence must read:
Either the man or I AM to blame.
It can never be:
Either the man orI IS to blame
or
Either the man or I ARE to blame
because we never say or write:
I IS or I ARE If the sentence were:
The man and I ..... to blame the correct verb would simply be ARE because the man and I is plural.
Can you provide the correct answer for example 2 above?
(To be continued.)
