Question tag —Either Michael or Kathrine will go...

[man of manners]

Hi!
This is a new thread in which we will discuss some sentences that need suitable question tags.
The sentence is:
Either Michael or Kathrine will go,........?

My opinion: "won't they?".

Thanks in advance!

 

[bhaisahab]

Yes, "won't they" is correct.

 

[man of manners]

Yes, "won't they" is correct.

Can it be "won't she?"?

 

[GoesStation]

Can it be "won't she?"?

No. Rephrase it as Either of them will go and you'll see that only won't they? is possible.

 

[Tdol]

Can it be "won't she?"?

That wouldn't cover Michael.

 

[man of manners]

That wouldn't cover Michael.

What I wanted to say is that, indeed, one of them will go not both of them.

 

[Raymott]

That's not something you can signify with a question tag.
As far as I'm aware (off the top of my head), I'd say that you can't add any further meaning to a sentence with a question tag - apart from the intrinsic "isn't that right?".

PS: "Either Michael or Kathrine, but not both, will go, won't they?" It's awkward.

 

[Tdol]

For me, either suggests that, but the question tag with she doesn't make sense.

 

[man of manners]

What if we used "neither" instead of "either"?

 

[man of manners]

"Either Michael or Kathrine, but not both, will go, won't they?" It's awkward.

Can it be "won't he or she?"

 

[GoesStation]

Can it be "won't he or she?"

Not in the English language as I know it.

 

[man of manners]

OK, I think "they" is used to make it clear that the speaker doesn't know who of them will go.