Subject Verb Agreement

by Jannat
(Bangladesh)

Every boys and every girls are good in our class. Is this grammatically correct? If it isn't could you explain why?

Comments for Subject Verb Agreement

Nov 17, 2011

MORE ???????????
by: Anonymous

WHAT ABOUT THE SENTENCE " The percentage OF gains on the NY STOCK EXCHANGE was OR were greater than before. Would it be was or were and why?

It would be WAS in this case because it is referring to the percentage (singular) not the gains (plural).

Feb 12, 2011

Answer
by: Ola Zur

Hi,

Actually, it is not.

Here is the corrected sentence:
Every boy and every girl is good in our class.

Here is the reason why:
"Every" is ALWAYS followed by a singular verb.

For example:
Correct: "Every student in the class has to pass this exam."
Incorrect: "Every students in the class have to pass this exam."

Furthermore, even though you use "every boy" and "every girl" the verb should be singular ("is") and not plural ("are"). This is because the subject talks about every one of them.

To find out more about English writing visit my website here at:
Learn to Write English.

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