Which way is correct, "neither you nor I (was / were) asking for refills"?

Answer 1

Well...it actually is debatable, but I'd go with "was" to be on the safe side...

With either/or (neither/nor) things that contain subjects that take different verb forms, there is no definitive agreement on which form the verb should take.

A majority, however, says that you should follow the subject that is closest to the verb, in this case " I ", so, since:

I WAS asking for refills --> Neither you nor I was asking for refills.

A minority say that the verb should always be singular in these cases, and an even smaller minority say that either verb form is acceptable.

So your best bet to avoid the ire of an anal-retentive English teacher (or professor, editor, yourself, etc.) is to go with the "closest to the verb" rule, in this case WAS.

Answer 2

The correct way to say is this: "Neither you nor I were asking for refills."

Answer 3

It's "were". To determine which is which, take out the "you nor I", and you have "Neither was asking was refills" or "Neither were asking for refills."

Answer 4

I would say "neither of us was asking for refills."

Answer 5

Neither you nor I asked for refills.

But if you insist on was vs. were then use were.

Answer 6

Oooh, BAD! Lose the double negative.

Answer 7

were but the sentence itself sounds awkward regardless of what word you put in....it's a fragment

Answer 8

Neither is singular (was).