The owner or the business managers need to prepare the annual budget.
A plural indefinite pronoun comes before the compound subject, so a plural verb is used.
This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by or, so the verb agrees with the first singular subject.
Both parts of the compound subject are plural, so a plural verb is used.
This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by or, so the verb agrees with the plural subject that is closer.
1 answer
The best explanation for why the verb in the sentence "The owner or the business managers need to prepare the annual budget" is correct is:
This sentence has a mixed compound subject connected by or, so the verb agrees with the plural subject that is closer.
In this case, "business managers" is closer to the verb "need," which is plural, hence the verb agrees with the plural subject.
