Which of the following violate the rule of subject-verb agreement? How would you correct the errors?
Either Sue or I are supposed to respond.
Is it supposed to be:
Either Sue or I am supposed to respond.
OR
Either Sue or I were supposed to respond.
?
the second one.
Anonymous is correct. The second one is not right. It puts the verb in the past tense and is plural. With the construction of "either . . . or" you need a singular verb. Since "I" is closer to the verb, "am" is the correct verb.
The correct sentence to maintain subject-verb agreement is:
"Either Sue or I am supposed to respond."
The error is in the original sentence where "are" is used instead of "am," which does not agree with the singular subject "Either Sue or I." By using the singular form of the verb "am," the subject-verb agreement is maintained.
The correct verb form to use in this sentence is "am" because "Either Sue or I" is a singular subject.
To determine the correct subject-verb agreement, first identify the subject of the sentence. In this case, it is "Either Sue or I."
Next, consider the number of the subject, which is determined by identifying whether it is singular or plural. In this case, "Either Sue or I" is a combination of two singular pronouns, so it should be considered as a singular subject.
Finally, you need to use a verb that agrees with the number of the subject. Since the subject is singular, the correct verb form to use is "am" (the first person singular form of the verb "to be").
Therefore, the correct sentence would be: "Either Sue or I am supposed to respond."
The other option you suggested, "Either Sue or I were supposed to respond," is incorrect because "were" is the past tense of the verb "to be" and doesn't agree with the singular subject "Either Sue or I."