This document provides guidance on using plural and singular verbs with collective nouns in English, including both/neither, each, every, most/all, none, and others. It addresses subjects like verb concord, distinguishing between plural countable and uncountable nouns, and the different structures for collective nouns like "each of", "neither of", "most of", etc. The document also includes examples of correct and incorrect usage and provides the corrections.

1. Ana Mena & Isabel Bastida
EOI CARTAGENA

2. PLURAL COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE
Some - Any Some - Any
A lot of/lots of A lot of/lots of
Plenty of Plenty of
(A) few (A) little
Many Much
A small/good/large/great numberof A small/a large amount of
The majority of/A couple of A good/A great deal of

3.  BOTH… AND…
Bothm y fathe r andm y g randfathe r stick to a die t due to
the ir diabe te s.
Bothte sts cam e o ut ne g ative fo r cho le ste ro l.
 BOTHOF … (Plural Countable Noun)
Bothof themare diag no se d with arthritis.
 VERBCONCORD(Plural Verb)
Bothof thepatients/Bothpatients we re o n a co urse o f
antihistam ine .
EACHCAN ALSO REFER TO TWO  I kissed him on each
cheek.

4.  NEITHER… NOR…/EITHER… OR
Neitherm y fathe r norm y g randfathe r stick to die t lo w o n sug ar due to the ir
diabe te s.
Eitherm y fathe r orm y g randfathe r wille nd up sticking to a die t lo w o n
sug ar.
Either/Neitherpatie nt was diag no se d with ano re xia.
 NEITHEROF …/EITHEROF … (Plural Countable Noun)
Neitherof the te sts cam e o ut po sitive fo r AIDS.
Eitherof the ho spitals spe cializ e s in pe diatrics.
 VERBCONCORD(Singularverb)
Neitherof thesurgeons/Neithersurgeon has unde rg o ne such an o pe ratio n.
Eitherof thenurses/Eithernursekno ws ho w to g ive yo u an IV.

5.  EACH(Initial orfinal position – Single items in a group – Singular
Countable)
Eachdo cto r in the o pe rating the atre trie d to save his life .
The patie nts we re g ive n a blo o d transfusio n each.
 EACHOF … (Plural Countable Noun)
Eachof the nurse s rushe d into inte nsive care .
 VERBCONCORD(Singularverb)
Eachdoctoris onduty.
Eachof thedoctors is onduty.

6.  EVERY (Group as a unit – SingularCountable)
Everypre scriptio n he g ave o ut was badly writte n.
 VERBCONCORD(Singularverb)
Everyro o m is e q uippe d with a dialysis co nne ctio n.

7.  MOST …/ALL … (PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUN- UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS)
Most te sts are carrie d o ut in a private ro o m .
All te sts are carrie d o ut in a private ro o m .
Half the re sults turne d o ut to be po sitive fo r m ultiple e scle ro sis.
 MOST OF …/ALL OF … (PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUN –
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS)
Most of the fo o d in ho spitalis rathe r bland.
All (of) the m e als in ho spitalare rathe r lig ht.
Half (of) the m e als in ho spitalare actually co o ke d in the pre m ise s.
 VERBCONCORD(It depends on the noun that follows)
WHOLE – ENTIRE with SINGULARCOUNTABLE NOUN
She spent the whole yearin rehabilitation. (Betterthan all the month)

8.  NONE (NOT ANY)
Many param e dics he sitate d but nonewas willing to act.
 NONE OF … (Plural Countable Noun)
None of the injured supporters was/were attended in ER.
None of themwas/were attended in ER.
 VERBCONCORD(Usually singularverb, but plural verb is
possible)

10. 1. There were two questions. I couldn’t answer neither of
them.
2. Both Maria and Marco comes to class by bus.
3. Either of they can pay. They’ve got money.
4. Dave and I both can play the guitar very well.
5. I wouldn’t like to live nowhere where it snows a lot.
6. He’s got to sisters but neither of they lives at home.
7. The PM answered little questions at the summit.
8. On Tuesday I worked every day.
9. All started about five months ago.
10. There are two hotels in the village, every one with its own
special charm.

11. Answers
1. There were two questions. I couldn’t answer eitherof
them.
2. Both Maria and Marco come to class by bus.
3. Either of them can pay. They’ve got money.
4. Both Dave and I can play the guitar very well.
5. I wouldn’t like to live anywhere where it snows a lot.
6. He’s got to sisters but neither of themlives at home.
7. The PM answered a few questions at the summit.
8. On Tuesday I worked the whole day day.
9. Everything started about five months ago.
10. There are two hotels in the village, each one with its
own special charm.

12. 1. I haven’t seen none of my friends from uni for ages.
2. None of the lights worked because there was no
electricity.
3. All of people in my office work very hard, but I don’t really
like none of them.
4. All of the rooms in my house is quite big, but none them
are very tidy.
5. Both of my brothers live near me, but neither of them
visits me very often.
6. No one in my family reads much, but both of my kids love
watching TV.

13. Answers
1. I haven’t seen any of my friends from uni for ages.
2. Correct
3. All of the people in my office work very hard, but I don’t
really like any of them.
4. All of the rooms in my house are quite big, but none of
them are very tidy.
5. Correct
6. Correct

14. 7. I’ve got two digital cameras but neither them don’t work
properly.
8. Both of my nephews will eat anything.
9. Everyone in my family have got a mobile phone and all
them text me quite a lot.
10.I’ve seen lots of documentaries on global warming and all
of them say the same thing.
11.Tom’s got five sisters but neither of them live in the same
town as him.
12.I know lots of Americans, but I’ve never met no one from
Canada.

15. Answers
7. I’ve got two digital cameras but neitherof themworks
properly.
8. Correct
9. Everyone in my family has got a mobile phone and all of
them text me quite a lot.
10.Correct
11.Tom’s got five sisters but none of them live in the same
town as him.
12.I know lots of Americans, but I’ve never met anyone
from Canada.