72 English Grammar Demystifi ed
Because some indefi nite pronouns can be singular or plural, your choice depends
on what the indefi nite pronoun refers to:
Correct: All of the people clapped their hands.Because all refers to people, which is plural, use their, a plural pronoun.
Correct: All of the delivery was soaked.Because all refers to delivery, which is singular, use a singular verb, was.
The pronouns that end with -body or -one, such as anybody,somebody,no one,
or anyone, are singular. Each and every are singular, while words such as all or
some may be singular. That means that a possessive pronoun referring to these sin-
gular words must also be singular:
Each boy received his gift as he left the party.In former times, standard written English allowed the use of the pronoun his to refer
to a singular indefi nite pronoun whether or not genders were clear:
Each received his gift as he left the party.Today, if you don’t know whether all who attended were male, you need to write his
or hers:
Each received his or her gift as he or she left the party.This makes an awkward sentence. A better alternative is to rewrite the sentence:
Upon leaving, each guest received a gift. (Each guest could be male or female.)Upon leaving, guests received their gifts.Guests, plural, could be male or female. Plural personal pronouns, such as their, in
English are neither masculine nor feminine.
Be sure to use singular indefi nite pronouns with singular verbs or singular per-
sonal pronouns.