Subject-Verb agreement with compound subjects

[Lee Kaiwen]

Since this grammar discussion seems to branching further out, I thought 
I'd toss out a point that has cropped up for me a number of times.

The question is subject-verb agreement when there is a compound subject.

"Either he or I ____ going."

What's the proper form of "be" to use here?

I'd been taught that the only correct solution is to rewrite the 
sentence: "Either he is going or I am." But here in Taiwan, where I've 
been teaching English for many years, all the textbooks insist on a 
nearer-subject rule: the verb must agree with the nearer of the 
subjects. It's taught, it's tested, and woe be to anyone who insists 
otherwise. Yet "Either he or I am going" just rubs my native intuition 
all the wrong ways.

And Carol, I'm still working on my reply to your last post to me on 
case. I really appreciated the quotes you found, and hope to find time 
to finish my reply before the subject goes completely stale.

CJ