# EN: Tous les devoirs ont été corrigés



## hardtop

As "homework" is uncountable, is the following sentence correct : 

"all the homework have been checked" 

or

"all the homework has been checked" (still meaning homework from different students) 

or 

"every homework has been checked" 

Thanks for Helping !


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## marget

With homework, as with other singular nouns, we use the verb in the singular. We could say "Every student's homework has been checked".


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## jann

As it is uncountable, we treat is as a singular:  _All the homework have has been checked._

If you want a plural, say can say something like:  _All the homework assignments have been checked._

But actually, this sentence doesn't sound very natural.  The passive voice makes it awkward.  If you're a teacher speaking to your students, you'll be more likely to say "I've graded/checked all your homework (assignments)" or more specifically, "... all your essays/problem sets/etc." 

If you are not speaking to the students who submitted the work, you might say something like "I('ve) finished the grading" or "I('ve) graded all the students' homework (assignments)."


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## hardtop

so "all the homework have been checked" is definitely not correct ? 

Also, when one says "all the homework", how does one know whether it means "all of this homework" or "all of them" ?


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## Bobbum

However, in a stretch, you might say: "All homeworks have been checked."


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## hardtop

Bobbum said:


> However, in a stretch, you might say: "All homeworks have been checked."



Well, I can't stretch anything, I'm currently grading exams.


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## marget

"All the homework have been checked" is definitely incorrect. If you want to use the word "homework", the verb must be singular.


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## jann

hardtop said:


> so "all the homework have been checked" is definitely not correct ?


 It sounds quite bad to my ear.

Hardtop is correct that we do occasionally say "homeworks" to mean "the various individual homework assignments submitted by each of a group of students." But usage is pretty limited, I think.


> Also, when one says "all the homework", how does one know whether it means "all of this homework" or "all of them" ?


For me, "all the homework" means "all of the homework _assignments_" = "all of them."  If I wanted to use the work "homework" to say that I had finished checking the single document submitted by a particular student, I would say "I've finished checking his/her homework" or "I've finished checking the entire homework (assignment)."  But honestly, I probably wouldn't use the word "homework" to talk about a particular assignment.  I'd use a more precise word, one that was obviously countable and specified the nature of the work, e.g., "I've finished grading this essay/assignment/lab report/etc."


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## hardtop

So, in conclusion, "all the homework has been checked" AND "all the homework have been checked" are incorrect, either grammatically or pragmatically. 

thanks a lot, people.


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## marget

I think you need to provide more context since you are grading exams. I suppose that you do not want to penalize a student unnecessarily or unjustifiably. I don't doubt that  "All the homework has been checked" may be acceptable in certain circumstances.


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## Keith Bradford

marget said:


> ... I don't doubt that "All the homework has been checked" may be acceptable in certain circumstances.


 
I don't doubt that it is perfectly acceptable in all circumstances. How could it not be? We'd say: _All the work *is *checked_, not _all the work are  checked_.  (By the way, this means _vérifier_, not _noter_.)

It is possible, though rare, to put homework into the plural. E.g. _I had French homework every day this week - honestly, five French homeworks!_ (= five examples of homework). This is not unlike saying _There are 365 French cheeses_, meaning types of cheese.


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## marget

Keith Bradford said:


> I don't doubt that it is perfectly acceptable in all circumstances. How could it not be? We'd say: _All the work *is *checked_, not _all the work are  checked_. (By the way, this means _vérifier_, not _noter_.)


 
I do agree with you, Keith, but I was curious to see if the use of the passive voice might be considered grammatically inappropriate here.  I myself thought it was fine.


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## hardtop

marget said:


> I think you need to provide more context since you are grading exams. I suppose that you do not want to penalize a student unnecessarily or unjustifiably. I don't doubt that  "All the homework has been checked" may be acceptable in certain circumstances.



Well, it's an exercise on the passive voice. A single sentence like the one I mentionned. May be correct but still sounds strange though.


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## marget

Grammar exercises are sometimes unnatural and unrealistic. Yet, I can imagine a teacher at the end of a school year saying: "All the homework has been checked; all the exams have been corrected; all the grades have been calculated and turned in. I'm done!"... followed by a sigh of relief and great satisfaction.


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## The Prof

The only thing about that sentence that doesn't sound good to me as a Brit is the word 'checked' - I would almost certainly say 'marked'. I would be perfectly happy with the passive construction:
_All the homework has been marked (and you will get it back at the end of the lesson)._


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## marget

In American English, I  make a distinction between checking and marking.  I can check homework  and point out all the errors  without giving the assignment a grade.  If I mark an assignment, I point out all the errors and give a grade.  In either case, since the exercise focused on the passive voice, we both agree that the construction is correct.


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## jann

hardtop said:
			
		

> So, in conclusion, "all the homework has been checked" AND "all the  homework have been checked" are incorrect, either grammatically or  pragmatically.


No, I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are both "incorrect."  The version with "have" is truly wrong; but the version with "has" is correct... it's just that we might not need that sentence very often. 

Some instructors use "to check" as a synonym for "to grade," while many others (like Marget) may "check" work without grading it... in which case, "checking" may mean anything from merely verifying that the student has completed the assignment, to indicating all the student's mistakes without giving a final grade.  "To mark" is generally a synonym for "to grade"... and I think it may (??) be preferred, or at least more common, in British English. 

Regardless, I think the matter of vocabulary is tangential to the grammar question... so fortunately, we're all in agreement about the passive construction and the singular verb!


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