I can't believe that I'm asking this but...

[madamimadam]

I have been staring at the following sentence for the last half hour:

'If your education or experience has left you....'

Now, to my sleep-deprived brain, this should read:

'If your education or experience have...'

Or should it? I just don't know anymore

Can a kind pedant please put me out of my misery? My last brain cell just seems to have failed me...

Thank you very much.

Prays that there are no errors in my first post to Pedants' Corner

Two singular nouns joined by 'or' takes a singular verb.

has

Good question - as it's a one or the other choice think has is ok but if it was both it would be have.

Surely if it's education OR experience it's only one thing, so it would be 'has' not 'have'? (Love your name by the way!)

Yep, you're right. If it was 'if your education or your experience has left you...' that would be correct because you would be referring singularly to each thing, in which casee has is the correct word. However in the case you state, your version is entirely correct.

Thank you all so much - and for not making me stand in shame in the corner of um... Pedants' Corner.

(That didn't really work, did it? I'll move along....)

You are all lovely.

still feels little thrill at Kathy's approval of my name