which is correct?
(1)Please suggest us if there are other ways to find
or
Please suggest us if there are any other ways to find
(2)
neither raj nor ram is going to the beach
or
neither raj nor ram are going to the beach
(3)
mike and david are going to the beach
or 'is going'
(4)
raj or ram are doing this work.
GMAT Forum
3 postsPage 1 of 1
- yamini
- GMAT 5/18
Yamini,
The first sentence (1) does not make sense - I think it is missing a "to" - please suggest TO us if there are other ways to find. I am not sure I see a major difference apart from that, so I would choose the first sentence for brevity.
For the second (2), "is" is correct. For "either or", "neither nor" situations, it is the preceeding subject that denotes the plurality. For example, if the sentence read "Neither Raj nor his friends are going to the beach", "are" is correct because "his friends" is plural. If instead the sentence read "Neither his friends nor Raj is going to the beach", "is" is correct as Raj is single.
In the case of Mike and David (3), it would be "are" - this is because Mike AND David are plural. However, if the sentence read "Mike, in addition to David", "is" would be correct.
For number (4), I would say "is" is correct, as Raj OR Ram is single, however Raj AND Ram would be plural.
I hope this helps!
The first sentence (1) does not make sense - I think it is missing a "to" - please suggest TO us if there are other ways to find. I am not sure I see a major difference apart from that, so I would choose the first sentence for brevity.
For the second (2), "is" is correct. For "either or", "neither nor" situations, it is the preceeding subject that denotes the plurality. For example, if the sentence read "Neither Raj nor his friends are going to the beach", "are" is correct because "his friends" is plural. If instead the sentence read "Neither his friends nor Raj is going to the beach", "is" is correct as Raj is single.
In the case of Mike and David (3), it would be "are" - this is because Mike AND David are plural. However, if the sentence read "Mike, in addition to David", "is" would be correct.
For number (4), I would say "is" is correct, as Raj OR Ram is single, however Raj AND Ram would be plural.
I hope this helps!
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9363
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
GMAT 5/18 is correct. FYI that even adding the "to" the the 1st sentence does not make it completely correct.
First, it requires the word "whether" instead of "if." Second, the sentence needs something after "to find" - Please suggest to us whether there are other ways to find our dog (or whatever). (Perhaps you weren't intending to write a complete sentence in your example, just a snippet.) And even with these fixes, this is something of an awkward sentence - it sounds like it has been translated from another language. Not colloquial American English.*
And to elaborate on the "is" vs "are" stuff - "and" is the only word that can be used to create a compound subject. A compound subject allows you to count two or more nouns as the (by definition plural) subject of the sentence. Any other connecting words lead to only one noun counting as the subject.
*ETA: of course, some correct GMAT sentences can sound pretty awkward, too!
First, it requires the word "whether" instead of "if." Second, the sentence needs something after "to find" - Please suggest to us whether there are other ways to find our dog (or whatever). (Perhaps you weren't intending to write a complete sentence in your example, just a snippet.) And even with these fixes, this is something of an awkward sentence - it sounds like it has been translated from another language. Not colloquial American English.*
And to elaborate on the "is" vs "are" stuff - "and" is the only word that can be used to create a compound subject. A compound subject allows you to count two or more nouns as the (by definition plural) subject of the sentence. Any other connecting words lead to only one noun counting as the subject.
*ETA: of course, some correct GMAT sentences can sound pretty awkward, too!
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
3 posts Page 1 of 1