Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words - Bill Bryson [55]
2. Errors involving “or.” Whereas and draws diverse elements together, or keeps them separate. When all the elements are singular, the verb should be singular too. Thus this sentence is wrong: “A nod, wink, or even a discreet tug of the ear aren’t [make it isn’t] going to be the only sign language at the auction” (Observer). When all the elements are plural, the verb should be plural. When there is a mixture of singulars and plurals, the rule is to make the verb agree with the noun or pronoun nearest it. Consider: “No photographs or television footage have been transmitted from the fleet for almost a week” (New York Times). Because the nearest noun, footage, is singular, the verb should be has. Had the two nouns been reversed, have would have been correct.
The need to maintain agreement can sometimes lead to awkward constructions, particularly with pronouns. “Is he or we wrong?” is grammatically perfect but perfectly awful. The solution would be to recast the sentence: “Is he wrong or are we?”
A final point to note is that or influences not only the verb but also subsequent nouns and pronouns. In the following sentence the correct forms are given in brackets: “While Paris, Mexico City, Hong Kong, or Munich have [has] shown how their [its] underground systems [system] can become part of the pride of their [its] city . . .” (Observer). A better alternative with that sentence, however, would be to change the or to and and leave the rest of it as it is.
3. Errors caused by failure to keep track of antecedents. Few people, it sometimes seems, have shorter attention spans than the average writer. All too often he or she will confidently set out with a plural or singular noun, become distracted by three or four intervening words, and finish with a verb of the opposite number. Such was the case in each of the following (the correct forms are given in brackets): “Bank mortgages, which now account for most expensive property, is [are] not included in the figures” (Times); “The pressure of living and working on board 24 hours a day have [has] led to some strained relationships” (Observer); “The incident demonstrates the reluctance with which some requests for interviews with ministers and senior officials is [are] met” (Times).
Occasionally the writer does not even have the excuse of intervening matter: “Meet Allan and Sondra Gotlieb, whose official titles may cause glazed looks but whose frankness have made them among the most popular, and unusual, diplomats in Washington” (New York Times). Frankness have?
And sometimes the intervening matter is so clearly unconnected with the main clause that the error is startling—all the more so when it is committed by as careful a user as Philip Howard: “Populist (and its generic class of politics, populism) have recently been adopted as vogue words in British politics” (from New Words for Old). Make it “has recently been adopted as a vogue word.” (For a discussion, see PARENTHESES in the Appendix.)
4. Errors involving personal pronouns. This is a common type and one that points up the inadequacies both of English and of those who use it. Consider: “If someone is learning a language for their job . . .” (Financial Times). The problem is that the singular someone and singular is are being attached to the plural their. Grammatically it is equivalent to saying, “No one were there” or “They is studying French.”
The convention is to make the second pronoun his: “If someone is learning a language for his job . . .” The obvious shortcoming is that this slights women. To avoid offending either them or grammar, you could make it “his or her job,” which is often cumbersome, or you could recast the sentence with a plural subject: “People who are learning a language for their job . . .” I recommend recasting.
Too strict an application of the rule can result in incongruities—a point that evidently occurred to Philip Howard when he wrote the following sentence in Words Fail Me: “Nobody pretends any more (if they ever did) that economics is an exact science.” “If they