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[Source:] It's also worth noting that the corrected version doesn't use but, but but then. The then is a key word that makes the sentence sensible; it indicates when Joey realized his wallet was at home – after they had reached the head of the line. Without that word, neither but nor yet make apt conjunction.

1. The correlative conjunction 'neither ... nor' is singular, and but and yet here are singular subjects, so should make be makeS?

2. apt conjunction as the predicate looks wrong, but I can't pinpoint why. Should this be an apt conjunction or apt conjunctionS ? Why or why not?

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is asking a previous answer. The user can just as easily comment on that answer and ask for clarification.
    – user6951
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 2:58
  • The cause of your confusion could just be a typo. Sometimes when I'm writing a longer answer and I'm trying to be clear, agreement issues creep in when I revise my thought. Is there a reason that you didn't just ask @J.R. to clarify that sentence?
    – ColleenV
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 4:03
  • @ColleenV I was thinking of that, but I didn't want to ask lengthy disparate questions (Since these questions don't relate to the OP there) in comments.
    – user8712
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 4:53
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    @δοῦλος Though the question was "sparked" by the content of an answer (that was likely just a typo) to another question on the site, the question (questions, actually) itself seems valid enough. I ran a search of "neither...nor" for duplicates but didn't notice one that dealt explicitly with subject-verb agreement in neither...nor constructions and/or making the subject complement singular or plural.
    – pyobum
    Commented Feb 12, 2015 at 5:04

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  1. Yes, you're correct. The same rule that applies to either...or or simply or also applies to neither...nor. If the subjects are singular, the verb that follows them should also be singular: Without that word, neither but nor yet makes an apt conjunction. Note that in the case of mixed subjects (i.e. one singular and one plural) the verb will match the subject that is closer to it.

  2. Based on the singular subjects, it should be written as an apt conjunction.

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    You make an important point: that the number depends on the things being disjoined: Neither bears nor badgers have horns. It would not be has horns, because badgers is plural.
    – tchrist
    Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 2:59

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