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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
None of them ARE/IS of importance?
None of them are of importance to me.
None of them is of importance to me.
Intuitively, I ought to think 'None of them ARE' of importance to me because 'THEM' is plural. However, 'None of' implies each singular unit of 'THEM' is of importance to me?
Could you provide insight into my quandary.
Best Wishes.
None of them is of importance to me.
Intuitively, I ought to think 'None of them ARE' of importance to me because 'THEM' is plural. However, 'None of' implies each singular unit of 'THEM' is of importance to me?
Could you provide insight into my quandary.
Best Wishes.
Top answer
Anonymous None of them are of importance to me. None of them is of importance to me. The traditional rule says that "none" takes "is" because "none" is "not one ".
- Anonymous None of them are of importance to me.
- None of them is of importance to me.
- The traditional rule says that "none" takes "is" because "none" is "not one ".
- Not one of them is of importance to me .
- Use "is" in formal writing and speaking (and in English exams).
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2 Answers
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AnonymousNone of them are of importance to me. None of them is of importance to me.The traditional rule says that "none" takes "is" because "none" is "not one". Not one of them is of importance to me. Use "is" in formal writing and speaking (and in English exams).
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The plurality of "them" doesn't matter -- it's the word "none" that dictates the verb (for example, you would never say "one of them are", as "one" is clearly singular). Traditionally some people have insisted that "none" should always be singular, based on its derivation from "not one". Nowadays many authorities reject that idea and allow that "none" can be treated as singular or plural, dependin
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