niether nor
Neither the red one nor the blue one suit you
or
Neither the red one nor the blue pne suits you
7 Answers
In both situations, "neither" and "nor" refer to one thing, and therefore "suits" is correct.
Annie, in your example "either of them" it would still be "suits." The verb needs to match "either (one)" and not "them."
In this next example, "Both suit you," the verb "suit" goes with "both," which is plural.
If both elements of the compound subject are singular, the "neither ... nor" construction requires "is." If both elements are plural, "are" is required. If one element is singular and one is plural, the one closer to the verb governs.
Examples:
Neither Bob nor Tom is the winner.
Neither the boys nor the girls are happy about folk dancing class.
Neither his dogs nor his cat is healthy.
Neither his cat nor his dogs are healthy.
This one "pops up" in Lesson 6 of my textbook.
Here are a few examples:
"¿Quieres vino, o (quieres) cerveza?" ----No quiero ni vino ni cerveza.
Do your want wine, or beer? ----I don't want either wine nor beer.
¿Vas a comer sopa, o ensalada? -----No voy a comer ni sopa ni ensalada.
Are you going to eat soup, or salad?" ----I am not going to eat either soup nor salad.
Now to the question regarding suits.
"Neither the red one nor the blue one suits you." (Traje is masculine)
"Ni el rojo ni el azul te queda bien"
I would say that neither suits you.
Strangely I would also say : I don't think that either of them suit you. But, this is WRONG, it should be: I don't think either of them suits you. Thank you Winkfish, you're undoubtedly right.
I can't explain this and I'm not English and may be wrong.
In the meantime , try the yellow one, it may suit you.
Normally in English when you refer to one thing alone you use the plural form but when you refer to two or more things together you use the singular form: (Yes, I know this sounds strange/weird! Every language has its strange rules!)
For example: When ships approach Tower bridge .the cars have to stop then..the bridge (singular) rises (plural) to let the ship/s pass through.
The girl (singular) runs (plural) with great excitement to her father..but ...
the girls (plural) run with great excitement to their father,.
Another example: The bird (singular) flies (plural form of verb) south for the winter but
The birds (plural) fly (singular) south for the winter.
Now, to address your question, which one should it be: suit or suits?
This seems to be an exception to the first examples I have given,above!
Neither the red one nor the blue one suit you or Neither the red one nor the blue one suits you
I would say the first example:: Neither the red or blue one suits you.
The blue (or red) one doesn't suit you (The words doesn't 'and 'suit' go together here; you wouldnt say doesn't and suitS)) ' Neither the blue or the red one suits you
However, it is possible that both forms in this situation are correct . I would be interested to know what Ian Hill has to say I think he teaches or has taught English as a foreign language before ( I think he might be a TEFL trained teacher)
When you are trying to work check/out which one is correct as a native I find that you have to say to yourself: Neither suit you vs neither suits you (?) and miss out the extra words inbetween) So often we native speakers use these grammatical constructiosn without even thinking about them so it seems strange to analayse our decisions!
I hope that Sir Ian Hill joins our discussion concerning this topic since I think he is a Trained T.E.F.L teacher and has taught English as a foreign language teacher no pressure, Ian! lol hahaha (if this is true!)
I hope this helps 
Both are correct. I would usually singularise the verb, but this is only personal preference. Also, 'neither' can be pronounced to rhyme with either 'knee-their' or 'nigh-their' (so can 'either').
which one is correct? the first one or the second one? Is the verb SUIT the third person singular or plural?
