Choose the correct option to complete the sentence:
These days, neither my brother nor I ______ allowed to use the phone after ten at night.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → am
Subject-verb agreement with “neither ... nor”:
- With “neither ... nor”, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.
- The nearer subject is “I”, not “my brother”. “I” takes “am”, and “these days” shows the present. So the verb is am.
- Complete sentence: These days, neither my brother nor I am allowed to use the phone after ten at night.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: are — Incorrect. “Neither ... nor” does not join two subjects into a plural one. The verb goes with the nearer subject, “I”. Example: My brother and I are in the same school.
Option 3: is — Incorrect. “Is” agrees with “my brother”, but that is the farther subject. Example: Neither my sister nor my brother is at home.
Option 4: was — Incorrect. “Was” shows the past. The sentence is about now (“these days”). Example: I was not allowed to use a phone in Class 8.