All as Subject Verb Agreement

All As Subject Verb Agreement: A Guide for Copy Editors

As copy editors, it is our responsibility to ensure that the content we edit is grammatically correct, coherent, and follows the rules of SEO. One of the most common grammatical errors we come across is the subject verb agreement. This error occurs when the subject and verb do not agree in number. Today, we will discuss one specific instance of this error – all as a subject.

When all is used as a subject, it can be a singular or plural noun depending on the context of the sentence. Let`s take a look at some examples:

1. All of the cake is gone. (singular)

2. All of the cakes are gone. (plural)

In the first example, all is used as a singular noun to refer to the entire cake. In the second example, all is used as a plural noun to refer to multiple cakes.

So, how do we determine if all is singular or plural? Here are a few tips:

1. Look at the noun that follows all. If it is a singular noun, then all is singular. If it is a plural noun, then all is plural.

Example: All of the milk is gone. (singular – milk is a singular noun)

2. Look at the verb that follows all. If it is a singular verb, then all is singular. If it is a plural verb, then all is plural.

Example: All of the students were excited. (plural – were is a plural verb)

3. Pay attention to the context of the sentence. Sometimes, it may not be as clear cut as the first two tips. In these cases, we need to use our judgment to determine if all is singular or plural.

Example: All of the water in the pool evaporated. (singular – water is a non-count noun)

In addition to understanding when all is singular or plural, we also need to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject in terms of tense. For example:

1. All of the guests were dancing. (past tense)

2. All of the guests are dancing. (present tense)

In conclusion, as copy editors, we need to pay special attention to all as a subject and ensure that the verb agrees with it in terms of both number and tense. By doing so, we can help our clients produce well-written, error-free content that ranks well in search engines.