The Strange Properties of 'Every'

 

The pitcher and shortstop know the rules. Notice how, in this simple example of a compound subject, the verb is plural: know. But fascinatingly, there's a way to add more pitchers and shortstops to this sentence yet make the verb singular.

Every pitcher and shortstop knows the rules.

That's the strange power of the determiner "every." Here's a look at how it works.

 

Download MP3

Tags: , ,

This entry was posted on Monday, July 31st, 2017 at 11:00 am and is filed under this week's podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.