Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error: Neither the…

Concept

With correlative conjunctions such as neither…nor and either…or, a finite verb normally agrees with the subject that is nearer to it.

The method is to identify both coordinated subjects, locate the one closest to the verb, and match the verb’s number with that subject.

Application

1. The coordinated subjects are “the manager” (singular) and “the employees” (plural).

2. The nearer subject to the finite verb is “employees”, which is plural.

3. A plural subject takes “were”, so the clause should read “Neither the manager nor the employees were willing…”. The form “was willing” carries singular agreement.

Contrast

• “Neither the manager” introduces the first member of the correlative pair.

• “nor the employees” introduces the second and nearer subject.

• “was willing” contains a singular finite verb after a plural nearer subject.

• “to accept the proposal” is the infinitive complement of “willing”.

Cross-check

Replace the coordinated phrase with the nearer subject alone: “The employees were willing to accept the proposal.” This independently confirms the plural verb form. Hence the erroneous segment is “was willing”.