Indefinite-Pronoun Subjects (everyone/none/each)

You write a sentence — something perfectly ordinary — and it just looks wrong:

None of my friends is coming to the party.

You stare at is and think, "Surely that should be are?" So you change it:

None of my friends are coming to the party.

Better. That sounds right. But now there's a small nagging voice — you're not sure it would survive a teacher's red pen, and you'd rather not find out the hard way in an exam.

Here's the thing. Little words like none, some, any, all, most look innocent — they really do — but the verb that follows them can be singular or plural, and people love arguing about which one is "correct." I've watched grown adults get quite heated about none is versus none are, which, honestly, is a strange hill to pick.

The good news is there's a clear, sensible pattern hiding underneath all that noise. Once you see it, the uncertain feeling goes — you stop guessing and start checking one simple thing.

One boundary before we go on, because it saves a lot of confusion. In this article we're only talking about these words when they're the subject and you're choosing the verb:

• Everyone is here.
• None of the biscuits are left.

We are not dealing with them as antecedents — that is, how they match up with a later pronoun, as in everyone brought their book. That's a whole separate conversation — singular they and all — and it lives in Pillar 2, H2.6. If that's what you came for, go straight there; you won't hurt my feelings.

Before you read on, here's where we're heading. By the end of this article you'll be able to: - Name the indefinite pronouns that always take a singular verb. - Spot the few that always take a plural verb. - Use the "of-phrase test" to decide the verb for slippery words like none, some, all. - Make your own examples that sound natural and pass an exam.

Beginner (Foundation)

Let's start gently. Indefinite pronouns are words like everyone, someone, none, all — they don't name a specific person or thing; they point to "people in general" or "things in general." And they split into two easy groups before we get to the tricky bit: some are always treated as one, and some are always treated as many.

The always-singular crowd

Think about everyone for a second. Yes, it clearly refers to a lot of people — a whole classroom of them — but we talk about it as one single group, like one crowd sitting in your mind. So the verb is singular:

• Everyone is ready. ✅ (Not: everyone are ready ❌)

Here's the set you need to know by heart — it's not a long list:

• everyone, everybody
• someone, somebody
• anyone, anybody
• no one, nobody
• each
• either
• neither

A little trick — imagine the word one hiding inside each of them: every-one, some-body, no-one, each (one). That hidden "one" is your reminder to keep the verb singular.

• Everybody is excited about the trip.
• Someone has left their bag by the door.
• No one was expecting that plot twist.
• Either option is fine.
• Neither answer is right.

And here's the part that trips people — even when there's an of-phrase dangling after them, these words stay singular:

• Each of the students is here.
• Neither of the games was easy.

Common Mistake: Each of the students are here. ❌ Your ear hears students — plural — and reaches for are. But the real subject is each, and each is singular. So: is.

The always-plural crowd

The other end of the scale is friendlier. Some indefinite pronouns are plainly about more than one person or thing, and they behave exactly like ordinary plural nouns:

• both
• few
• many
• several

You can feel it in your ear — these ones don't fight you:

• Both are correct.
• Few have done the homework.
• Many were chosen.
• Several have arrived early.

Add an of-phrase and nothing changes at all:

• Both of the answers are correct.
• Few of the players were tired.
• Several of my friends have already left.

These are easy wins — take them.

Pro-Tip: If you can naturally follow the word with "are" when you say it out loud — Both are…, Many are… — it's almost certainly in the always-plural group.

Quick recap: - Everyone, someone, anyone, no one, each, either, neither → always singular. - Both, few, many, several → always plural. - Don't let the noun in an of-phrase fool you here — match the verb to the pronoun itself. - These two groups are your easy base before the flexible ones arrive.

Intermediate (Development)

Now the interesting bit — the reason you probably clicked in the first place. Some pronouns won't sit still. They change depending on what comes after them, and this is exactly where people start guessing wildly.

The good news is there's a simple test, and it never lets you down.

When you've got none, any, some, all, most, more followed by an of-phrase — none of the cake, some of the students — don't look at the pronoun. Look inside the phrase. The noun sitting in there is the one driving the verb.

Think of it like this: these pronouns are a bit like containers. None of the students isn't really about "none" as a thing — it's about students, plural. The none just tells us how many. So the verb agrees with what's in the container:

Look at the noun after of. If it's singular or uncountable, use a singular verb. If it's plural, use a plural verb.

Let's walk it through.

None: - None of the cake is left. (cake — one uncountable thing → singular) - None of the students are coming. (students — plural → plural)

Some: - Some of the water is dirty. (water — uncountable → singular) - Some of the biscuits are missing. (biscuits — plural → plural)

All: - All of the money is gone. (money — uncountable) - All of the questions are easy. (questions — plural)

The same pattern carries over to any, most, more — it doesn't run out of steam:

• Any of the rice is fine.
• Any of the players are allowed to join.
• Most of the time is wasted.
• Most of the students are ready.
• More of the juice is needed.
• More of the chairs are broken.

And it still holds when the sentence gets long and shows off:

• None of the complicated homework that was set last week is done. — the noun is still homework, still singular, so still is.

Pro-Tip: Not sure whether a noun is "uncountable"? Try putting a number in front of it. You can't say three rice or two money — so those behave as singular for this pattern.

Common Mistake: Mixing the pattern up inside one sentence: ❌ None of the cake are left. ❌ Some of the biscuits is missing. Each verb should follow the noun after of — not the vague "feel" of the whole phrase.

A quick way to check yourself — shrink the sentence in your head. Keep just the noun after of and the verb:

• None of the cake is left. → The cake is left. (still fine)
• None of the students are coming. → The students are coming. (also fine)

If the shrunk version sounds wrong, your original verb probably is too. It's a scruffy little trick, but it works.

Quick recap: - None, any, all, some, most, more can be singular or plural. - Look at the noun inside the of-phrase and let that decide. - Singular/uncountable noun → singular verb; plural noun → plural verb. - Shrinking the sentence to "the [noun] + verb" is a fast sanity check.

Advanced (Mastery)

If you're still with me, you probably care about getting this right in essays and exams — and you may already have noticed that real English doesn't always line up neatly with the tidy rule I just gave you. Let's be honest — grown-up writing is messier than that, and it helps to know why.

The long-running fuss about none

You may have been told, somewhere along the way, that none must always be singular — because it grew out of not one. On that logic:

• None of the boys is here.

Old style guides really did insist on this, and some very traditional readers still do. But modern English has softened. Native speakers naturally lean plural when the noun after of is obviously plural, because we're really thinking "not any of the boys" — and boys are just feels more natural in the mouth:

• None of the boys are here.

So what should you do? In careful school writing, you're safe with this:

• Singular verb when the noun is uncountable or singular: None of the information is useful.
• Plural verb when the noun is clearly plural: None of the players are tired.

Most teachers will happily accept both None of the players is tired and None of the players are tired — but the second sounds more natural to modern ears, and that's worth knowing.

And if a none sentence is making you second-guess yourself in the middle of an exam, there's an escape hatch — rephrase it with no + noun:

• No players are tired.
• Not one of the players is tired.

Pro-Tip: When none is tying you in knots, swap it for no + noun (no students are…). It's easier, it's completely correct, and there's nothing left for a pedant to poke at.

When meaning wins — notional agreement

Sometimes — especially when we're speaking rather than writing — we match the verb to the idea of the group instead of the strict grammar. That's called notional agreement, and there's a proper piece on it in Pillar 5.7 if you want the full story of why none has drifted plural over the years.

You'll notice it most in relaxed sentences like these:

• Most of my family are coming over. (you're picturing several people)
• All of my class are going on the trip.

In very formal writing, some teachers prefer the singular — Most of my family is coming over — and that's not wrong either. Both patterns genuinely exist. For school essays, the safe move is to follow the of-phrase test you've just learned; later, when you're confident, you can reach for notional agreement on purpose, for effect. No rush.

Where this joins the other side of the fence

One reminder before we close, because I've been careful about it all the way through. Everything here has been about these pronouns as subjects — how they pick their verb.

If you're wondering about sentences like Everyone brought their book or Someone forgot their pencil, that's a different question — it's about matching a later pronoun back to everyone or someone, and it's where singular they comes in. We've handled all of that in Pillar 2, H2.6, with an advanced follow-up in Pillar 5.8 for indefinites acting as antecedents. Head there when you're ready for the next step.

Common Mistake: Trying to fix Everyone brought their book by forcing Everyone brought his or her book into ordinary writing. It's technically fine, but it's clumsy — modern English usually prefers they here. That's a Pillar 2 conversation, not this one.

Quick recap: - None used to be "singular only"; today it's flexible — usually singular with uncountables, plural with clear plurals. - In speech we sometimes match the verb to the idea of the group — that's notional agreement. - For school and exams, sticking to the of-phrase test is safe and clear. - Everyone…their is a pronoun-antecedent question — see Pillar 2 H2.6 and Pillar 5.8.

UK vs US Usage

The basic patterns here are the same on both sides of the Atlantic: everyone and friends take singular verbs; both, few, many, several take plural; and none, some, any, all, most, more follow the noun in the of-phrase.

The one genuine difference is a matter of frequency — how often none goes plural:

• In UK English, None of the students are here is completely ordinary and nobody blinks.
• In US English, you're a little more likely to see the singular in formal writing: None of the students is here.

Both forms exist in both places now, so if you're writing for an exam, follow your teacher's steer; otherwise, use the of-phrase test and your ear. (For the separate UK/US split on collective nouns — the team is/are — see Pillar 1; I'm not going to rebuild it here.)

Key Takeaways

• Everyone, somebody, each, either, neither take singular verbs.
• Both, few, many, several take plural verbs.
• None, any, all, some, most, more can be singular or plural as subjects.
• Use the of-phrase test: match the verb to the noun after of.
• With none + a plural noun, modern English accepts both — and you can always dodge it with no + noun.

Check Your Understanding

1. Each of the posters ___ (is / are) colourful.
2. Both of the solutions ___ (seems / seem) reasonable.
3. None of the sugar ___ (is / are) left.
4. None of the players ___ (is / are) injured. (both are defensible — pick the more natural one)
5. Most of the homework ___ (was / were) easy, but some of the questions ___ (was / were) quite hard.

Answer key

1. Each of the posters is colourful. — each is singular.
2. Both of the solutions seem reasonable. — both is always plural.
3. None of the sugar is left. — sugar is uncountable → singular.
4. None of the players are injured. — with a clear plural, modern English leans plural, though is isn't "wrong" in formal styles.
5. Most of the homework was easy, but some of the questions were quite hard. — homework behaves as singular; questions is plural.

Related Articles

• Hub — the overall grammar roadmap.
• Pillar 1 — Basic subject-verb agreement (including the UK/US collective-noun split).
• Pillar 2, H2.6 — Indefinite pronouns and singular they (the antecedent side of everyone…their).
• Pillar 5.3 — Quantities and fractions as subjects (the same of-phrase logic applied to amounts).
• Pillar 5.7 — Notional concord (why none has drifted plural over time).
• Pillar 5.8 — Advanced pronoun-antecedent agreement (indefinites acting as antecedents).

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