british or american grammar?

Thought:

There is also Proximity Agreement or Proximity Concord where the verb agrees with the closest noun, even if that is not the real subject of the verb - e.g.
A parcel of books have arrived for you.
The 'have arrived' should agree with the singular noun 'parcel', NOT the plural noun 'books'.

To sum up: In British English either of them is (concord) AND either of them are (Notional Concord) are BOTH CORRECT!

Which sounds more correct?. Remove one of the nouns and test it.
"A parcel has arrived
. . .books have arrived.

Now take your pick!!
 
I consulted my Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar.

The subject is covered under 'agreement' also known as 'concord'.

The normal rule is that the verb must agree with the subject - He works; they work.

Prescriptivists [the Oxford term for Grammar Nazis] insist that strict agreement is necessary, so they would want "Neither of them is".

The teachers in my school were definitely of the Prescriptivist persuasion. My thanks to you for pointing out the relevant passage in the ODEG.

They also went ballistic if you split an infinitive or used adjectives as adverbs, even though there were plenty of examples of this usage in English literature.
 
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