Ask the Editor
Everybody Has or Everybody Have?
Question
On May 4th 2020 "Ask the Editor" notes to use "has" with third person singular, and "have" for the rest. Does that mean that "everybody" is regarded as third person singular, or is it the exception when using "has"?
—
LJ
,
South Africa
Answer
Everybody is third person singular.
The words everybody and everyone are pronouns that describe a group of people, but grammatically they are singular. The last part of each word is a singular noun: body and one. Below are some example sentences:
Everybody is coming to the house after the show.
Everyone has a reason to smile.
Everybody who works here does something different.
Everyone on the bus is wearing a coat.
Everybody runs along the trail.
Everyone likes ice cream.
I hope this helps.
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