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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
None
Is "none" plural? It seems so:
First there were some, and then there were none.
First there were some, and then there were none.
Top answer
No complaints here. And no complaints from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: 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 n, "one," but the word has been used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward.
- No complaints here.
- And no complaints from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: 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 n, "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.
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4 Answers
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No complaints here.
And no complaints from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:
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 etymologicall
And no complaints from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:
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 etymologicall
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Yes, in the plural use, I see "none" as the opposite of "some". For those who only see "none" as the opposite of "one", I ask, and others, what is the opposite of "two", "three", etc.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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Well, for one thing, I don't see that just because one word has an opposite, other words must. Each angle of a triangle has one opposite side, but that is not true of a quadrangle.
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