Subject-Verb agreement with compound subjects

[Carol]

CJ wrote:
> 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.
> 
Carol responds:

I'm glad you appreciated the quotes. It took me a lot of time to find
and copy them (and also persuaded me that I need to arm myself with a
more up-to-date English handbook!

You're correct that the verb in an "or" phrase agrees with the nearest
noun or pronoun. However, I also agree that "Either he or I am going"
sounds ridiculous, and "Either he or I is going" is not only equally
ridiculous but incorrect.

Your instinct is correct: the solution when you're confronted by an
ugly or awkward construction should always be to rephrase it. In this
case, I, too, would write, "Either he is going or I am."
Alternatively, you could say, "Either he or I will go," avoiding the
"to be" verb altogether. And you can tell your friends (or students or
supervisors) that an American copyeditor and former English teacher
with a PhD in English told you so.

Carol, looking forward to your post on case