[Grammar] Verb agreement: Neither -nor

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taruns1008

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#1 Neither the principal nor the teachers were present.

#2 Neither the teachers nor the principal was present.

#1 is correct. But in #2 I change the position of both subjects. Does it makes the sentence incorrect.

Somewhere on internet I read that in that type of sentences the plural subject should be placed next to the verb (I don't know if the source is reliable or not). Is this rule correct?
 
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MikeNewYork

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In both cases, "principle" should be "principal". Beware of homophones.

I don't think the "rule" you quoted is actually a rule. However, it can make the sentence sound better if the plural subject comes second and the verb is plural.
 

taruns1008

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OK. you mean Both sentences are correct but #1 is preferable. thank you
 
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