grammatical number - Is "either you or [third-person]" followed by a singular verb or a plural verb?


Or, put in examples: which of the following is grammatically correct?



Either you or your sister is going to have to do the chores.




Either you or your sister are going to have to do the chores.



The second option comes off as really strange; am I right to say that the first is grammatically correct because "is" directly follows "your sister" as opposed to "you"?



Answer



You are correct; the correct way to write it is based on the number of the closer subject:



Either you or your sister is going to have to do the chores.



As suggested in point 5 on this page, you might consider the order of the subjects to avoid awkward phrases if one is singular and the other is plural. Compare



Neither my father nor my brothers are going to sell the house.



with



Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.



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