Page 34 - Improve_Your_Written_English [Marion_Field]

20 / P ART ONE: THE B AS ICS

Nobody likes her.
Anything is better than that.

Something has fallen off the desk.

Mistakes are often made with the pronoun ‘everyone’, which
is singular:

Everyone has their own books.
This is incorrect. Everyone is singular. ‘Their’ and ‘books’
are plural so ‘his’ or ‘her’ and ‘book’ should be used. Follow-
ing is the correct version.

Everyone has his or her own book.

Singular pronouns must always agree with the rest
of the sentence.

Collective nouns, like singular pronouns, must always be
followed by the singular form of the verb. Look at the
following common mistakes:

The Government are planning a new divorce Bill.

This is incorrect. ‘Government’ is a singular noun. There is
one Government. The correct version is:

The Government is planning a new divorce Bill.

Most collective nouns can, of course, be made plural by
adding an ‘s’. They are then followed by the plural form of
the verb.