Grammar question

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Hi,

Can someone help me determine which of the followings is correct?

1. Subsequent stages of selection each divides the number of column paths by two.

or

2. Subsequent stages of selection each divide the number of column paths by two.

I think sentence 1 is correct since "divides" here refers to "each stage of selection", however, the grammar check in Microsoft word suggests sentence 2 is the correct one (I suspect it's refering to "subsequent stages")

Thanks!
Robert

Miriam · Accepted Answer

Hello, Robert

I would follow Word in this case.
When "each" follows a plural subject, the verb usually agrees with the subject. Sentence #2 sounds correct to me.

If the sentence started with "each of", "divide" would also be a good choice after a rather long plural subject:
"Each of the subsequent stages of selection divide..."
With a shorter plural subject, "decides" seems to sound better:
"Each of the stages divides..."

With just "each" at the beginning of the sentence, as a determiner, the subject would be singular, and so "decides" would be correct:
"Each (subsequent) stage of selection divides..."

According to what I've read so far, though, the rules do not seem to be too strict.

I hope it helps.

Miriam

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