English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I know that when two subjects are connected using "and", we need to use the plural form, as in:
He and I are good friends.
Are there any exceptions? I am asking this because I came across this sentence:
- He and my dad believes that mom is always right.
There is another kind of sentence like:
Each boy and each girl has submitted his/her form.
or
Every boy and every girl has submitted his/her form.
If I made any grammatical mistakes on the question, please mention it in the comments.
The first sentence is grammatically correct because it's a plural conjugation (we are can replace "He and I")
"Is there any exceptions? " - Are there any exceptions.
The second sentence is not grammatically correct (he and my dad believes) because the subject is plural ("we believe"), so you must use plural conjugation (see above).
The third sentence uses the counter /each/, which must be used with a singluar noun, and therefore the conjugation should be singular (each + noun + is). This is idiomatic/ an exception.
The fourth sentence is singular for the same reason. /Every/ is used with singular nouns and treated like a singluar countable noun. This includes the group noun /everybody/ (everybody is).
Some nouns in English require singular conjugation, even in plural e.g. /everybody/ is BUT most follow the rule and these are not common. Memorise the exceptions!
