Parts of Speech & Usage

Subject-Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns (e.g. everyone is)

1 min read

Some words look plural but take a singular verb. This is often true with indefinite pronouns: words like everyone, somebody, each, none that talk about people or things in general, without saying exactly who or what. To choose the right verb, you need to know if each word is singular or plural.

1. Indefinite pronouns that are always singular

These pronouns refer to people or things in general but always take a singular verb:

Everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody
Each, either, neither, everything, something, nothing, anything

Examples:

Everyone is welcome at the event.
Each student needs a notebook.
Nothing was missing from the report.

2. Indefinite pronouns that are always plural

These pronouns refer to multiple people or things and take a plural verb:

Few, many, several, both

Examples:

Many are interested in the topic.
Both were accepted into the program.

3. Indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural

These depend on the word that comes after them:

All, some, most, none

Examples:

All of the water is clean. (water cannot be counted → singular)
All of the students are here. (students can be counted → plural)

💡 Tip

Everyone, somebody, each, nothing = singular → use verbs like is, has, was.
Many, few, both, several = plural → use verbs like are, have, were.
All, some, most, none → look at the noun that follows to decide.
“Everyone” talks about many people, but the verb is singular: everyone is, not everyone are.

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Everyone ___ waiting for the bus.

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Parts of Speech & Usage

Subject-Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns (e.g. everyone is)

1 min read

1. Indefinite pronouns that are always singular

These pronouns refer to people or things in general but always take a singular verb:

Everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody
Each, either, neither, everything, something, nothing, anything

Examples:

Everyone is welcome at the event.
Each student needs a notebook.
Nothing was missing from the report.

2. Indefinite pronouns that are always plural

These pronouns refer to multiple people or things and take a plural verb:

Few, many, several, both

Examples:

Many are interested in the topic.
Both were accepted into the program.

3. Indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural

These depend on the word that comes after them:

All, some, most, none

Examples:

All of the water is clean. (water cannot be counted → singular)
All of the students are here. (students can be counted → plural)

💡 Tip

Everyone, somebody, each, nothing = singular → use verbs like is, has, was.
Many, few, both, several = plural → use verbs like are, have, were.
All, some, most, none → look at the noun that follows to decide.
“Everyone” talks about many people, but the verb is singular: everyone is, not everyone are.

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

Everyone ___ waiting for the bus.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Lay vs. Lie

Conjugation

Too vs. Enough

Conjugation

Some vs. Any

Conjugation

Articles: A, An, The

Common confusions

“Different from” vs. “Different than”

Common confusions

Advise vs. Advice

A bit of theory

Is 'data' singular or plural?

Common confusions