Category Archives: paralegal

Either Or . . . Neither Nor . . . Connecting Singular Words and Plural Words and the Right Verb

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Either orThere is some confusion over whether to  use a singular or a plural verb when using the famous connectors or, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, or not only . . . but also. Here is a quick rundown that should help.

If you are connecting singular words using or, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, or not only . . . but also, the subject is singular, so you would use a singular verb.

  • Either Mary or Patsy is working overtime tonight.
  • Neither peanut butter nor jelly is in my cupboard.

Note that it is now also acceptable to connect more than two words using the connectors above.

  • Neither paper nor toner nor a manual was included with the new printer.

If you are connecting two or more plural words using or, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, or not only . . . but also, the subject is plural, so you would use a plural verb.

  • Either books or magazines are available in the doctor’s office.
  • Neither beans nor noodles are in my cupboard.

When you are using a mix of singular and plural words connected with or, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, or not only . . . but also, the verb should agree with the nearer part of the subject.

  • Either a diamond necklace or pearls go with that evening gown.
  • Either pearls or a diamond necklace goes with that evening gown.
  • Neither the boss nor the workers expect to work late.
  • Neither the workers nor the boss expects to work late.

I hope this helps. Do you have a topic that continues to confuse you? Either leave a comment below or email me at [email protected] and watch for a future blog post trying to make that topic easier to understand.

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Grammar Giggles – Michigan State is Accurate–or Not!

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This one was forwarded to me by my sister. Again, in my view educational institutions are held to a higher standard–even the sports programs. In fact, since all the money is going there instead of the arts, I hold them to an even higher standard!

 

Michigan State

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Random Information

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As I’m getting back into the blogging swing, we’ll catch up with some random information this week.

Professional and Personal Titles. When using a professional title, do not use a personal title. For instance, Mr. John Jones, Esq. is incorrect. So is Dr. Julie Smith, M.D. Choose one or the other.

Plurals of Personal Titles. When addressing more than one person, you can pluralize the titles.

  • The plural of Mr. is Messrs.
  • The plural of Ms. is Mses. or Mss.
  • The plural of Mrs. or Mme. is Mmes.
  • The plural of Miss is Misses

Pages and lines. When you are referring to pages and/or lines in another document, you use “p.” for one page or “pp.” for multiple pages and “l.” for one line and “ll.” for multiple lines. Always pay attention to the range of your citation. If you are citing to a deposition excerpt at pages and lines 13:15-15:20, it would be pp. 13:15-15:20. Sometimes the writer will start with one page and just use “p.” everywhere, but if the citation is to multiple pages, you should change it.

Periods With Contractions. Do not use a period after a contraction. For instance, in my recent travels, I saw a sign for a national park that said “Nat’l. Park.” That is incorrect. “Nat’l” is a contraction for “National,” not an abbreviation, so it should not have a period at the end.

Signing Letters and Emails. When a non-attorney is using a signature block in a letter or an email, they should always include their title, i.e., Legal Assistant, Paralegal, etc., so the recipient knows that the communication is not from an attorney.

That is enough randomness for now. If you have random questions, leave a comment below and watch for the response in an upcoming post.

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