WAEC 2015 English Language · Question 8

Neither Jack nor Jill … there yesterday

Question

From the words or groups of words lettered A to D, choose the words or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences. Neither Jack nor Jill....there yesterday

A.are
B.were
C.is
D.was

Answer: D. was

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question The sentence is "Neither Jack nor Jill ____ there yesterday." We need the correct verb form. This tests subject-verb agreement with "neither...nor" and tense.

Explain the concept

With "neither...nor" (and "either...or"), the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Here, both subjects are singular (Jack, Jill), so the verb must be singular.
The word "yesterday" tells us the sentence is in the past tense.

Solution

Subjects: Jack and Jill, both singular.
Time: "yesterday" means past tense.
Past tense singular form of "to be": was.
Check each option: • A. are: present tense and plural. Wrong. • B. were: past tense but plural. Wrong here, because both subjects are singular. • C. is: present tense. Wrong, because "yesterday" needs the past. • D. was: past tense and singular. Correct.

Correct sentence: Neither Jack nor Jill was there yesterday.

Exam tip For "neither...nor" questions, ask two things:

Which subject is closest to the verb? Is it singular or plural?
Is there a time word (yesterday, now, last week) that fixes the tense?

Remember: "Neither/nor looks at the neighbour." The verb copies the noun nearest to it.

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