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Verig Posted 23 years ago
Grammar

Everyone + was/were?

Could some native English speaker tell me if it's ok to say:
"Everyone else were sleeping.",
or should I say "Everyone else was sleeping."?

I know that every- words are treated as singular, but I'm not totally sure about was/were.
  

Top answer

Everyone ( was ) Under no circumstance that everyone takes the verb to be ( were )

— Whl626

  • Everyone ( was ) Under no circumstance that everyone takes the verb to be ( were )
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14 Answers
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Everyone ( was )Emotion: smile Under no circumstance that everyone takes the verb to be ( were )
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Good. There's one teacher who says they're interchangeable in cases like this. Sounded a bit odd to my ears, but when you start thinking about words too much...
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I don't quite understand your sentence, Whl626.
Could you please rewrite it in a easier and detailed way???
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I just mean that ' everyone ' ( is/ was )....

' Everyone ' can never be followed by a plural verb to be ( are/ were ).
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Now I understand, Thanx Emotion: embarrassed
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You need the plural form of to be (are/were) when using the subjunctive:

"if everyone were to remember their grammar, we wouldn't have to have this discussion"
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AnonymousYou need the plural form of to be (are/were) when using the subjunctive
were, yes, but not are! The present subjunctive is be.

It's important that everyone be there on time.

CJ
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But what about:

Everyone else around me (was/were) wearing button-up-shirts and long, black pants.
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AnonymousBut what about:Everyone else around me (was/were) wearing button-up-shirts and long, black pants.
It's not subjunctive, so you need singular was.
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