when to use has or have?

Question

Which is correct...

Phil or the twins have the book. or
Phil or the twins has the book.

Jane or her cousins open the store.
Jane or her cousins opens the store.

Answer 1

'Have' is plural: "Phil or the twins have the books"
'Has' is singular: "Phil or the twins has the book."

Answer 2

In the first phrase, if ONLY phil had the book, it would be "Phil has". I think adding the twins may change it to "have" (I am not sure of this, however. Go with majority answers on that one.)

Second example, the word is open. No s because either Jane or her cousins do it. If it was only Jane who did this, you would put the s on it. Jane opens it. Jane or her cousins open it.

Answer 3

There's actually a logic to this. In the case 'or', whether the subject is singular or plural is determined by proximity to the verb. In other words, the last 'possible' subject (given that there's a choice between two possibilities) which is next to the verb determines the usage. So in these cases, the verb is in proximity to the plural subject, and should follow (have, and open). This is similar to the rule of tense. BUT, truth be told, ALL of these are wrong. In the strictist sense, and most correct, the sentences should have a verb for each possible subject like this:

Phil has, or the twins have, the book.
Jane opens, or her cousins open, the store.

But unless you're writing a master's thesis, no one will expect you to write that way.

Answer 4

phil or the twins have the book
jane or her cousins open the store
:)

Answer 5

have & open