be placed next to the verb.”—­Murray’s Gram., 8vo, p. 151; Smith’s New Gram., 128; Alger’s Gram., 54; Comly’s, 78 and 79; Merchant’s, 86; Picket’s, 175; and many more.  There are other grammarians who teach, that the verb must agree with the nominative which is placed next to it, whether this be singular or plural; as, “Neither the servants nor the master is respected;”—­“Neither the master nor the servants are respected.”—­Alexander Murray’s Gram., p. 65.  “But if neither the writings nor the author is in existence, the Imperfect should be used.”—­Sanborn’s Gram., p. 107.

OBS. 5.—­On this point, a new author has just given us the following precept and criticism:  “Never connect by or, or nor, two or more names or substitutes that have the same asserter [i.e. verb] depending on them for sense, if when taken separately, they require different forms of the asserters.  Examples.  ’Neither you nor I am concerned.  Either he or thou wast there.  Either they or he is faulty.’  These examples are as erroneous as it would be to say, ‘Neither you am concerned, nor am I.’  ‘Either he wast there, or thou wast.’  ’Either they is faulty, or he is.’  The sentences should stand thus—­’Neither of us is concerned,’ or, ‘neither are you concerned, nor am I.’  ’Either he was there, or thou wast.’  ’Either they are faulty, or he is.  They are, however, in all their impropriety, writen [sic—­KTH] according to the principles of Goold Brown’s grammar! and the theories of most of the former writers.”—­Oliver B. Peirce’s Gram., p. 252.  We shall see by-and-by who is right.

OBS. 6.—­Cobbett also—­while he approves of such English as, “He, with them, are able to do much,” for, “He and they are able to do much”—­condemns expressly every possible example in which the verb has not a full and explicit concord with each of its nominatives, if they are connected by or or nor.  His doctrine is this:  “If nominatives of different numbers present themselves, we must not give them a verb which disagrees with either the one or the other.  We must not say:  ’Neither the halter nor the bayonets are sufficient to prevent us from obtaining our rights.’  We must avoid this bad grammar by using a different form of words:  as, ’We are to be prevented from obtaining our rights by neither the halter nor the bayonets.’  And, why should we wish to write bad grammar, if we can express our meaning in good grammar?”—­Cobbett’s E. Gram., 242.  This question would have more force, if the correction here offered did not convey a meaning widely different from that of the sentence corrected.  But he goes on:  “We cannot say, ’They or I am in fault; I, or they, or he, is the author of