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One singular and one plural subject

Sometimes, we join a singular subject to a plural subject. In this case, the majority of style guides state that the verb should agree with the noun that is closest to it. For example:

• “Neither my cousins nor my mom likes swimming.” (Likes is singular, because mom is singular.)

However, there are also those who believe that if either of the subjects is plural, then the verb should also be plural. According to this preference, the second sentence above would require the plural form of the verb because the first subject, my cousins, is plural:

• “Neither my cousins nor my mom like swimming.”

If this is confusing or you’re not sure which style you should use, you can avoid the problem entirely by switching the order of the subjects so that the plural subject comes closest to the verb. In this way, we satisfy both styles:

• “Neither my mom nor my cousins like swimming. ”