FAQs about sentence and word structure

Is it everybody is or everybody are?

It is always everybody is (not everybody are)—e.g., “Everybody is meeting there at 5 p.m.”).

Knowing whether to use is or are with indefinite pronouns can be tricky because some are treated as plural, some as singular (like everybody), and some can be either.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to check the subject-verb agreement in your sentences.

Read this FAQ: Is it everybody is or everybody are?

Is it my family is or are?

We typically say and write family is (not family are) in American English, treating it as singular, like other collective nouns.

In British English, it is very common to use are with collective nouns (even in formal contexts) if the writer or speaker is thinking of the group as individuals rather than a single entity, (e.g., The family are all very health conscious). This use is not common in American English, but it is acceptable.

Knowing whether is or are is correct can be tricky. You can use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to check that the subject-verb agreement in your sentences is correct.

Read this FAQ: Is it my family is or are?

What is a contronym?

A contronym is a word that can also act as it’s own own antonym. Examples of contronyms include:

• Cleave: to split in two or cling together
• Dust: to cover with or to remove dust
• Sanction: to approve or penalize
• Fast: firmly fixed in place or moving rapidly
• Overlook: to supervise or fail to see
• Left: remaining or departed
• Screen: to show or conceal
• Trim: to add or reduce

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using contonyms correctly.

Read this FAQ: What is a contronym?

How do you find the subject of a sentence?

The subject is “what the sentence is about.”

If the sentence is in the active voice, then the subject of the sentence is the “doer” of the action described by the main verb.

For instance, in the sentence “Kate has to write her aunt a thank-you letter,” “Kate” is the subject (she is “doing” the writing).

If the sentence is in the passive voice, the subject is not the doer, it is the “recipient” of the action (or occasionally the thing being “transferred”).

For instance, if the information from the example above is expressed in the passive voice as “Kate’s aunt has to be written a thank-you letter,” the subject is “Kate’s aunt” (the recipient).

In the sentence “A thank-you letter has to be written to Kate’s aunt,” which is also in the passive voice, the subject is “a thank-you letter” (the thing being transferred).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? You can use it to check that the verbs in your sentences “agree with” the subjects.

Read this FAQ: How do you find the subject of a sentence?

How do you change passive voice to active voice?

To change a sentence from the passive voice into the active voice, identify the “doer” of the action and then make it the subject of the sentence.

For instance, in this passive sentence, “The play was written by Shakespeare,” the verb is “write,” and the “doer” is Shakespeare. So, the sentence with Shakespeare as the subject will begin with “Shakespeare wrote…” If we add the rest of the information, the full sentence in the active voice is “Shakespeare wrote the play.”

You can use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to rephrase sentences that are in the passive voice.

Read this FAQ: How do you change passive voice to active voice?

What is the difference between active and passive voice?

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence is the “doer” of the action (e.g., “He cooked the food”), but in the passive voice the subject is the “recipient” of this action (e.g., “The food was cooked by him”).

You can use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to identify uses of the passive voice in your writing.

Read this FAQ: What is the difference between active and passive voice?

Is an object complement a noun?

An object complement can be a noun or noun phrase, but it can also be an adjective or adjective phrase.

Object complements follow a direct object and describe or rename it. For example:

• They appointed me president. [noun]
• I consider her the perfect teacher. [noun phrase]
• The chlorine turned my hair green. [adjective]
• The critic found the book trite and predictable. [adjective phrase]

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you ensure you’re using object complements correctly.

Read this FAQ: Is an object complement a noun?

What’s the difference between a subject complement and an object complement?

Both object complements and subject complements rename or describe a noun or pronoun.

• Subject complements come after a linking verb and describe the subject of a sentence.
• Object complements come after and describe a direct object.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use subject and object complements correctly.

Read this FAQ: What’s the difference between a subject complement and an object complement?

What are some either or examples?

Either … or is a correlative conjunction that can be used in a variety of ways in sentences. Some examples are:

• Either my mom or my dad will give me a ride.
• They said we could either sit in the balcony or stand near the stage.
• Either pay attention, or leave.
• I’ll take either a soda or a water.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using either … or correctly.

Read this FAQ: What are some either or examples?

Is it neither nor or neither or?

The correct form of the correlative conjunction is neither … nor (e.g., “We have neither the capital nor the name recognition to expand into a new market”). “Or” is never used with “neither.”

A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using correlative conjunctions and negatives like “neither … nor” correctly.

Read this FAQ: Is it neither nor or neither or?