[Grammar] Either the budgies or the cat has/have to go.

[wotcha]

1.Either the budgies or the cat has to go.

2.Either the budgies or the cat have to go.

Which one is grammatical?

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

Which one do you think is correct? There are many previous threads and articles on this. You may wish to google either or neither nor verb agreement.

 

[wotcha]

Which one do you think is correct? There are many previous threads and articles on this. You may wish to google either or neither nor verb agreement.

Of course 1 is correct but one grammar page on the web says we say like sentence 2,

especially when one of the subjects is plural noun. That's why I put this question.


P.S. I tried to find the grammar page in vain, but here I found one who had come across the same page.

http://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst35478_either-neither---or-nor---.aspx

 

[tzfujimino]

Of course 1 is correct but one grammar page on the web says we say like sentence 2,

especially when one of the subjects are plural nouns. That' why I put this question.

Hello, wotcha.:-D
I believe the verb should agree with the closest noun.

So,
1.Either the budgies or the cat has to go.
or
2.Either the cat or the budgies have to go.

Please go to: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/3297-either-either.html

(I didn't know what 'budgies' were.:-D)

Please wait for native speakers to comment.

 

[emsr2d2]

There have been arguments about this before. You could avoid the issue by saying "Either the budgies go or the cat does!"

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

Wotcha, you may find the following explanation helpful. I posted it in a different thread:

When a subject is made up of two or more items joined by (either)...or... or (neither)...nor... we use a singular verb if the last item is singular (although a plural verb is sometimes used in informal English), and a plural verb if the last item is plural:

• Either the station or the cinema is a good place to meet, (or ...are... in informal English)
  
• The President or his representatives are to attend the meeting.
  

If the last item is singular and previous item plural, we can use a singular or plural verb:​

• Either the teachers or the principal is to blame for the accident. (or ...are to blame...)

Advanced Grammar in Use (second edition) - Martin Hewings, p. 82

So, I'd say that #1 is the safest and best choice, though #2 is also possible.

I can highly recommend this book. It's a great reference and it has a ton of exercises.

 

[BobK]

...
(I didn't know what 'budgies' were.:-D)

...

Short for 'budgerigars' - colourful birds native to Australia but common as pets in the UK (and probably elsewhere). They're sort of 'mini-parrots'.

b

 

[MikeNewYork]

Short for 'budgerigars' - colourful birds native to Australia but common as pets in the UK (and probably elsewhere). They're sort of 'mini-parrots'.

b

We usually call them parakeets in the US.

 

[emsr2d2]

Parakeets and budgerigars are very different birds in the UK.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Parakeets and budgerigars are very different birds in the UK.

What are they in the UK?

Budgerigar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Raymott]

All budgerigars are parakeets; but not all parakeets are budgies.
Budgies are Melopsittacus undulatus, ie. one species.
Parakeet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks Raymott. I didn't know that but I knew they weren't the same thing to look at, if you see what I mean. In the mid to late 20th century, a budgie was kept as a pet by many (usually elderly) people. They were kept in quite small cages in the living room. My great-grandmother had two. Parakeets (what I consider to be parakeets) are bigger, bright green and not kept as pets in the same way. There are several flocks of wild parakeets living in parks in London

 

[BobK]

It seems - from Parakeet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - that what is known as a 'parakeet' in BE is a Grass Parakeet (in Wikipedia's terms), while a BE 'budgerigar' is a Budgerigar Parakeet (in the same terms). So everyone's right. ;-)

b

PS I blogged a while ago about another clash of names like this.

 

[Tdol]

PS I blogged a while ago about another clash of names like this.

I like the idea of the entrenched typo.