Neiter I nor Emma speaks

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

When the second person is used at the end of the sentence, I should use the verb is singular. Right?

For example, ''Neither I nor Emma speaks Spanish.''

 

[Tdol]

But many would use speak.

 

[emsr2d2]

And some people would use "Neither Emma nor I speak Spanish".

 

[GoesStation]

And some people would use "Neither Emma nor I speak Spanish".

It's a strong convention in English to list oneself last. When John Steinbeck wanted to give his Cannery Row character Mack an endearingly eccentric quirk, he had him begin all his conversations with Doc with "I and the boys …". This is not something most people would say in any register of the language.

 

[Tarheel]

Neither of us

Neither of us speaks Spanish.

That assumes that the listener knows who you are talking about, which is usually the case.