I've come across this sentence:
Every man, woman, and child in this line is required to sign the forms in order to complete the registration process.(From Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL test: The Paper test)
I see that the noun phrase Every man, woman, and child acts as a singular noun.
But I wonder how about the noun phrase Every man, every woman, and every child?
I've heard that these two noun phrases are interchangeable; it's the same thing but just written differently.
But I've also heard that when noun phrases are connected with and, it's then considered as a plural.
So, what is Every man, every woman, and every child considered as? Singular or plural?
Best Answer
Short answer: Don't think too much about it and choose is, because every and each work the same way. If it helps, read every as every single.
Every (single) man in this line is required to sign the forms.
Every (single) woman in this line is required to sign the forms.
Every (single) child in this line is required to sign the forms.
A. Every single [man, woman, and child] in this line is required to sign the forms.
B. Every single man, every single woman, and every single child in this line is required to sign the forms.
C. Every man, every woman, and every child in this line is required to sign the forms.
Since the subject in A, B, and C is equivalent, is is required. In each sentence, you are talking about one person at a time.
Also we would not write:
*Every man, every woman, and every child are each required to sign the forms.
Another example:
Every pen on this desk is broken.
Every pencil on this desk is broken.
Every eraser on this desk is broken.
Every single pen, every single pencil, and every single eraser on this desk is broken.
Every pen, every pencil, and every eraser on this desk is broken.
And certainly not:
*Every pen, every pencil, and every eraser on this desk are each broken.
The above explanation covers standard written English. In spoken English, it's every person to their own device(s).