Grammar Tutorial
One of the common mistakes in subject-verb agreement is caused by a certain group of pronouns. They look plural but are really singular. Which sentence is correct?
Everybody on the team win.
Everybody on the team wins.
Everybody seems to refer to all people. So, it is plural. Right? No. What it really expresses is 'each body' and body is singular. The correct verb form is the single verb form in the second sentence.
Singular Pronouns:
another
anybody
either
anything
each
each one
either
everybody
everyone
everything
neither
nobody
no one
nothing
one
somebody
someone
Here is a way you can easily remember most of these words. Look at the second part of the words, which are all singular words--one, thing and body are all singular, and the words they are part of are also singular.
Tip: Many of these pronouns are often followed by a prepositional phrase. Remember to ignore the interrupting phrase to recognize the correct verb form.
Neither of the whales is happy living in the tank.
Each of these sharks weighs more than 500 pounds.
Plural Pronouns:
both
many
few
several
I like these books. Both are science fiction.
Lots of children like the character Elmo. Many watch Elmo on television.
Some nouns are always plural even though they look like they are one thing. They always take a plural verb.
Nouns that are always plural:
clothes
eyeglasses
pants
scissors
trousers
Your clothes are all over the room.
Those scissors are for cutting paper.
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