neither...nor的用法

Question

請問各位先進:

There _____ neither oranges nor water on the table.

空格的地方應該填"is"還是"are"呢?....

Answer 1

最佳解答

Neither ... nor...在連接兩主詞時，採［就近原則］，由最近的主詞決定動詞的人稱：

Neither you nor he is to blame.

但在非正式的用法中，可見到動詞一律使用複數，且此用法已得文法學家普遍認可。Neither he nor his wife have arrived.

以上說明及例句，請參見 pp.618-619趙振才著，朗文出版＜英語常見問題大詞典＞

Neither his son nor his dauhter were at the funeral.

p.1002 Macmillan English Dictioinary for Advanced Learners 2007 edition

所以無論是否採用［就近原則］或［非正式用法］，There are neither oranges nor water on the table.似乎應該都是正確的。