“John and Mary is happy. Either the cats or the dog are in the room.”
Grammar Entry 35 / 1011 60-second read
Agreement with Compound Subjects
Compound subjects joined by "and" are plural; those with "or" depend on the nearest subject.
The comparisoni
“John and Mary are happy. Either the cats or the dog is in the room.”
The ruleii
¶
"And" = always plural.
Grammar rules for compound subjects have specific patterns.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
"And" = always plural. "Or/Nor" = agree with the closer subject.