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“doesn’t it”/“don’t they” with “every” as a determiner

English Language & Usage Asked by timothymctim on April 2, 2021

Which of the two is correct: “Every cell phone does that, doesn’t it?” or “Every cell phone does that, don’t they?”

One Answer

Every cell phone does that, doesn’t it? or Every cell phone does that, don’t they?

"Every" is a distributive determiner as reflected in the fact that it selects a singular 'head', hence "Every student is here", not *"Every students are here".

"Cell phone" has singular "phone" as head, so singular tag "doesn't it?" is the one you want. Note that you can use a plural tag with "all": All the cell phones do that, don't they?.

Correct answer by BillJ on April 2, 2021

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