Choose the part of the sentence that contains an error:
Neither the teacher nor the students was present.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The error lies in subject-verb agreement. According to the rule for correlative conjunctions like "neither... nor," when two subjects are joined, the verb must agree with the subject closest to it.
Analysis of the Sentence:
Subject 1: "the teacher" (singular)
Subject 2: "the students" (plural)
Since the plural noun "students" is closer to the verb, plural verb ‘were’ should be used in place of ‘was’.
Correct Sentence:
Neither the teacher nor the students were present.