Writing Correct Sentences

Agreement with indefinite pronouns

Singular indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to specific persons or things. The following commonly used indefinite pronouns are singular:

anybody

anyone

anything

each

either

everybody

everyone

everything

neither

nobody

no one

somebody

someone

something

Example sentence: Everyone on the team supports the coach.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Each of the furrows have been seeded. Revised sentence: Each of the furrows' has been seeded. Explanation: The word 'have' has been replaced by' has.

The subject is Each, which is third-person singular, so the verb must be has.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Everybody who signed up for the ski trip were taking lessons. Revised sentence: Everybody who signed up for the ski trip was taking lessons. Explanation: The word 'were' has been replaced by 'was.'

The subject is Everybody, which is third-person singular, so the verb must be was.

Singular or plural indefinite pronouns

The indefinite pronouns all, any, none, and some may be singular or plural depending on the noun or pronoun they refer to.

Example sentence: Some of our luggage was lost. Example sentence: None of his advice makes sense.

Example sentence: Some of the rocks are slippery. Example sentence: None of the eggs were broken.

none

When the meaning is emphatically “not one,” none may be treated as singular:

Example sentence: None of the eggs was broken.

However, some experts advise using not one instead:

Example sentence: Not one of the eggs was broken.

Subject-verb agreement at a glance

When to use the -s (or -es) form of a present-tense verb

Exercises:

Subject-verb agreement 1

Subject-verb agreement 2

Subject-verb agreement 3

Subject-verb agreement 4