Here is our second of seven rules for pronoun agreement and reference:

• The "e" pronouns and their negatives are always singular:
  each
  each one
  either, neither
  everybody, nobody
  everyone, no one
  everything, nothing
  Example:
  Everybody (singular) in our department donates (singular) to United Way.
   
• These pronouns are also always singular:
  one
  anyone
  anybody
  someone
  somebody
  Example:
  Somebody (singular) in the audience lost her (singular) handbag. (Only one woman lost her handbag.)
   
• These pronouns are singular or plural. Their number is determined by the key word in the prepositional phrase that follows the pronoun:
  all
  any
  most
  none
  some
  Examples:
  All of the work (singular) is finished.
  None of the reports (plural) are finished.

NOTE: None, used alone, may also be singular or plural. When the sense is "no persons or things," the plural is used: The proofreaders checked for errors, but none were found (none = no errors). When the sense is "not one," the singular is used: Of all my reports, none was as well written as my latest (none = not one).

Next week we'll review some additional rules that govern pronoun use.