19SVA Trick #2
The following pronouns can be SINGULAR or PLURAL:
some all any most none
When dealing with the aforementioned pronouns, we have to look inside the prep phrase
to see what the pronoun is referring to.
Let’s see how this works:
Most of the records are obsolete.
Be sure to cross out the prep phrase “of the records.”
Most of the records are obsolete.
What is the verb? are
What is the subject? most
Do they match? “Are” is plural and “most” can be singular or plural so let’s look inside the prep phrase
to see what the “most” refers to – records. “Records” is plural so the subject and verb
match and the sentence is correct.
Notice how you can count records? Watch what happens when you cannot count what is inside the prep phrase.
All of the cake have been eaten.
Cross out “of the cake.”
All of the cake have been eaten.
What is the verb? have been eaten
What is the subject? all
Do they match? Nope. Look inside the prep phrase and realize that “all” refers to “cake.” “Cake” is
singular – you can count pieces of cake, but you can’t count cake. Have been eaten is
plural so we need to change it to has been eaten.
All of the cake has been eaten.
SVA Trick #3
Here is our last set of tricky pronouns.
who, which, and that can be SINGULAR or PLURAL