Learn English – “Who is speaking with each other?” Is this correct

interrogativesquestionssubject-verb-agreement

When who and what are used to ask for the subject of a clause, they most often have singular verbs, even if the question expects a plural answer.

Practical English Usage, Michael Swan, Third edition, Page 525

So we say:

A: Who is speaking?
Q: John and David are speaking.

How about this one? Is it correct to ask:

A: Who is speaking with each other?

For this answer:

Q: John and David are speaking with each other.

Best Answer

"Who is speaking with each other" does not sound right to me; unfortunately, I don't have a source to cite to back this up. I wouldn't recommend "Who are speaking with each other" either though.

I would recommend avoiding using "who" as the subject of questions including the phrase "each other," and instead using something more specific if you can, like "which [plural noun]." "Which of them are speaking with each other?" is certainly grammatical.

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