Question

Which of the following sentences demonstrates the correct use of subject-verb agreement when an
indefinite pronoun is the subject?
A. Each of the boys were looking for the library.
B. Everybody was shouting at the meeting.
C. Neither of us have checked our voicemail messages.
D. Nobody were listening to the speaker.

Answer 1

B; Everybody was shouting at the meeting. This demonstrates accurate subject-verb agreement usage, when an indefinite pronoun is present in the sentence.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B. Everybody was shouting at the meeting

Explanation:

In grammar, a singular subject should be followed by a verb that is also singular or that is used with singular subjects, in the same way, a plural subject should always be followed by a plural verb from which is called subject-verb agreement. On the other hand, an indefinite pronoun refers to pronouns such as all, everyone, each, nobody, neither, etc that define indefinite or abstract subjects and that are also categorized as singular or plural.

In this way, the indefinite pronouns another, everyone, nobody, someone, anybody, neither, each, etc are singular and should be followed by singular verb forms while pronouns such as both, many, several, etc. should be followed by a plural verb form. Considering this, the only sentence that demonstrates the correct use of subject-verb agreement is "Everybody was shouting at the meeting" because in this both the subject (Everybody) and the verb (was) are singular which means they agree in number.