Page 633 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
P. 633
Consider the following sentence:
Keisha or her brother (is, are) scheduled to arrive today.
How many will arrive today? Just one will arrive, either Keisha or her
brother, so using the singular verb is makes logical sense. The
singular verb is also agrees with brother, the part of the subject closer
to the verb.
Keisha or her brother is scheduled to arrive today.
Now, let’s change the sentence a bit.
Keisha’s brothers or her parents (is, are) scheduled to arrive
today.
How many will arrive? In this sentence, more than one—either
brothers or parents. It makes sense, then, to use a plural verb. The
plural verb are also agrees with parents, the part of the subject closer
to the verb.
Keisha’s brothers or her parents are scheduled to arrive today.
The next two sentences do not lend themselves to logical
examination.
Keisha or her parents (is, are) scheduled to arrive today.
