neither, nor, and the singular-plural distinction

Traditionalists will tell you to use "is" for neither. In practice, you'll find it taking the plural sometimes, especially if the part that comes after the "nor" is a plural.

In your case, both the traditional singular use of neither and the fact that "his friend" is singuarl argue heavily in favor of using the singular "is."

You will find people saying "Neither he nor his friend

Englishuser
Hello everyone,

Which of the sentences do you prefer?

1. Neither he nor his friend is interested in contemporary arts.

2. Neither he nor his friend are interested in contemporary arts.

I think in your context, no questions, “is” the correct answer. But the tricky one is when you have yourself i

To be perfectly honest, even though I know that the first is 'correct', I prefer the second, probably by analogy with
Both he and his friend are uninterested in contemporary arts.

I sense that more than one thing is being negated; hence, the feeling of plurality.
The fact that friend is not a plural here does not bother me in the slight