This topic asks you to complete a present-tense gap, judge a finished sentence, or select every acceptable agreement pattern. The challenge is that an indefinite pronoun can refer to many people or stand next to a plural noun while remaining grammatically singular.
Classify the whole construction
Do not choose agreement from the number of people you imagine. Read the indefinite expression as a unit. First decide whether the subject is a singular compound such as everyone or no one, a distributive form headed by each or every, or an of-construction. For an of-construction, inspect whether the complement is mass, singular or a plural group; that distinction determines whether variation is available.
| Construction | Agreement to apply |
|---|---|
| Everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, everything, each or every one as subject | Singular agreement, even when the meaning includes several people or things. |
| Every before an ordinary count noun, or each of before a plural noun phrase | Singular agreement; the distributive head controls the verb. |
| Either or neither alone, or before one singular count noun | Singular agreement. |
| None with a singular or mass referent | Singular agreement. |
| None of plus a plural count noun, or either of or neither of plus a plural group | Both forms are accepted: singular is formal, while plural is common in informal British English. |
This gives you a reliable sequence: mark the indefinite head, identify any of-complement, decide whether the relevant branch is singular-only or both-accepted, and only then compare the finite verbs. Never turn a register preference into a claim that the other accepted form is wrong.
Where the mistakes come from
| Trap | Why it is wrong |
|---|---|
| A plural-pattern verb after everybody | The pronoun refers to a group but is grammatically singular, so agreement follows its form rather than the number of people meant. |
| A base-form verb after either plus one singular count noun | This is the singular either construction, not either of plus a plural group. The variation rule does not apply. |
| A verb attracted to the plural noun after each of | The plural noun sits inside the of-phrase. Each continues to control singular agreement. |
| A plural noun immediately after ordinary distributive every | In this construction every selects one singular count noun; changing only the verb cannot repair the malformed subject phrase. |
Try it
Select all sentences with acceptable agreement in contemporary standard British English.
- Either of the two neighbours is available tonight.
- Either of the two neighbours are available tonight.
- Neither route are open after dusk.
- Neither route is open after dusk.
Which sentence handles no one correctly?
- No one near the platform knows the revised time.
- No one near the platform know the revised time.
- No one near the platform have read the notice.
- No one near the platform are waiting indoors.
Complete with the correct present-simple form of (remain): None of the equipment ___ available during the maintenance window.