--- In [email protected], "Ellen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Gene started last week's column with this sentence: > Neither Dave Barry nor I recalls for sure when and where we first had > this discussion, which is not surprising inasmuch as beer was involved. > > Is this supposed to be "recalls" or "recall"?
#### I think what the phrase is, in essence, is 'neither one of us, Dave or me'. And thus the subject is singular, not plural. So it's "recalls". HOWEVER - tho far be it from me to criticize Gene's writing - it is best to avoid constructions that make the reader stop and think about the grammar... He could have said, "Dave and I talked about this and neither one of us recalls..." Well, that's clumsy, which is why I don't write columns for a living... Oh, and Mike - thanks for the reminder to change my clocks. (Don't want to miss my TV programs, if there happen to be any on Sunday...and I have an on-line meeting this afternoon, which is confusing enough, given that each of the four of us is (hey! a parallel construction!) in a different time-zone. The meeting is of volunteers planning a conference. None of you has (another parallel! oh, except that you is always plural...ratz) to be told, I'm sure, that that's a ridiculous activity to get involved in. It's hard enough to get people to do things when there's a pay cheque involved, but when there's no carrot and no stick...
