dreamz Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 One of the posts on the TM forum has confused me much about the usage of none. Which is the correct verb in the following sentences: 1) None of the attempts (explain, explains) why most of the people commit crimes. 2) None of you (is, are) going to the party tonight. Please give your answers with a suitable explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seenapanalli Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Usage of 'none' depends on the conetext, however, none is, more often than not, assocaited with singular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimni Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 None can be singular or plural depending on the subject in qestion attempts...are none of the articles are none of you are going to the party (please correct if worng) because in question form "Are none of you going to the party" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piyusht Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 First of all good question and confusing one too.. i tried looking for same answers and its really hilarious that at some places its saying none is singular, someplaces its being regarded as plural too... IMO, the indefinite pronoun none / no one can be either singular or plural, depending on its context and if i aint wrong thats the reason they are called INDEFINITE. None is nearly always plural (meaning "not any") except when something else in the sentence makes us regard it as a singular (meaning "not one"), as in "None of the food is fresh." The choice between a singular or plural verb depends on the desired effect. Both options are acceptable in this sentence: None of the conspirators has (or have) been brought to trial. When none is modified by almost, however, it is difficult to avoid treating the word as a plural: Almost none of the officials were (not was) interviewed by the committee. None can only be plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal supporters believe (not believes) his story. No One deal only with people , not things but None represent for both things and people. So we should choose "none" in the sentence when we mean no one as well as no thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamz Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 Thanks all, your explanations have helped. Waiting for some more intelligent insights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaithy Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 When NONE is used in the beginning of the sentence, the correct verb (whether singular or plural) is identified based on the subject/noun that follows that. If you take the examples, 1) None of the attempts (explain, explains) why most of the people commit crimes. Here "attempts" is plural and so it has to take plural verb which is "explain" 2) None of you (is, are) going to the party tonight. Here "you" considered to be plural in most cases and it has to take plural verb "are" Same rule applies for most, half etc words that starts in the begiining. Do this makes sense... In Piyus example None of the conspirators has (or have) been brought to trial It should take "have" as the verb...that's what I feel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niegra Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 From Dictionary.com Usage Note: It is widely asserted that none is equivalent to no one, and hence requires a singular verb and singular pronoun: None of the prisoners was given his soup. It is true that none is etymologically derived from the Old English word http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/amacr.gifn, “one,” but the word has been used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward. The plural usage appears in the King James Bible as well as the works of John Dryden and Edmund Burke and is widespread in the works of respectable writers today. Of course, the singular usage is perfectly acceptable. The choice between a singular or plural verb depends on the desired effect. Both options are acceptable in this sentence: None of the conspirators has (or have) been brought to trial. When none is modified by almost, however, it is difficult to avoid treating the word as a plural: Almost none of the officials were (not was) interviewed by the committee. None can only be plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal supporters believe (not believes) his story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamz Posted June 4, 2005 Author Share Posted June 4, 2005 Thanks, Niegra and Vaithy. Your explanations have surely enlightened me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimhighest Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 We should treat "none" as plural to agree with context. Or should we treat "none" as singular. Please clarify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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