Subject verb agreement

Question

Each of the twins have read about Joseph Priestley's contribution to the understanding of oxygen, but neither were aware that he also invented the pencil eraser.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

"When the pronoun is followed by an of phrase containing a plural noun or pronoun, there is a tendency for the verb to be plural: Each of the candidates has (or have) spoken on the issue. Some usage guides maintain that only the singular verb is correct, but plural verbs occur frequently even in edited writing." (RHUD)

The plural verb jars in my ears!

CB

Mister Micawber · Answer

In mine, too-- even though I just used 'none are' in my last posting.

Cool Breeze · Answer

Mister MicawberIn mine, too-- even though I just used 'none are' in my last posting.

That's different, as this quotation from the same dictionary shows:

"—Usage.Since NONE has the meanings “not one” and “not any,” some insist that it always be treated as a singular and be followed by a singular verb: The rescue party searched for survivors, but none was found. However, NONE has been used with both singular and plural verbs since the 9th century. When the sense is “not any persons or things” (as in the example above), the plural is more common: … none were found. Only when NONE is clearly intended to mean “not one” or “not any” is it followed by a singular verb: Of all my articles, none has received more acclaim than my latest one."

CB

Ivanhr · Answer

This source clearly suggests that the verb should be singular.

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html#each

Mister Micawber · Answer

However, NONE has been used with both singular and plural verbs since the 9th century.

Yep, about when I was in primary school.

Subject verb agreement

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