Is it "Everything is" or "Everything are"?

In English, pronouns are essential for avoiding repetition and making sentences more fluid. One such pronoun is everything, which can sometimes confuse learners regarding verb agreement. This blog post will explore the use of everything, its singular nature, and the correct verb forms that accompany it.

What Is "Everything"?

The pronoun everything refers to all things or all items in a particular context. It is an all-encompassing term that includes everything within the specified group or situation. 

For example:

• Everything in the box is new.

In this sentence, everything encompasses all the items contained in the box.

Singular Nature of "Everything"

It's crucial to understand that everything is treated as a singular pronoun in English. This means that it always takes a singular verb. The confusion often arises because everything implies multiple items or concepts, leading some learners to mistakenly think it should be paired with a plural verb.

Correct Verb Agreement

When using everything, the correct verb form is always the singular form.

Here are some examples to illustrate this:

• Correct: "Everything is ready for the party."

Here, "is" is the singular verb that agrees with the singular pronoun everything.

• Incorrect: Everything are ready for the party.

This sentence is incorrect because "everything" requires the singular verb "is."

Additional Examples:

• Correct: Everything was cleaned up after the party.
• Incorrect: Everything were cleaned up after the party.
• Correct: Everything seems fine after the meeting.
• Incorrect: Everything seem fine after the meeting.

Summary

To summarize, everything is a singular pronoun and should always be followed by a singular verb (is, was, seems, etc.).