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Virginiajean Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

The case of indefinite pronoun "all"

In the sentence:

All that he did was/were to annoy, to insult and to waste everyone else's time.

Should the linking verb, agree with the subject "All" or with the infinitive complement, "to annoy, to insult and to waste..."?

And also, in forming restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, should the verb for the said clauses agree with its relative pronoun or the word that's being modified?

"It is 'I' who 'has/have' swallowed her pride in this dilemma."
  

Top answer

"All he did was to annoy ... " All here is singular. "It is I who have swallowed my pride ...

— DMW

  • "All he did was to annoy ...
  • " All here is singular.
  • "It is I who have swallowed my pride ...
  • " The verb must agree with either "I" or "she" in these sentences.
  • And it makes no sense to swallow someone else's pride.
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3 Answers
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"All he did was to annoy ... "

All here is singular.

"It is I who have swallowed my pride ... " or "It is she who has swallowed her pride ..."

The verb must agree with either "I" or "she" in these sentences. And it makes no sense to swallow someone else's pride.
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LOL.. I meant "My" pride.
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Why the verb should agree with all and not with its complement?

Why is "All" treated as singular?
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