0
Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

None of them 'was' or 'were'?

Does the word 'none' take a singular or plural verb? Does it depend on what follows (object of preposition)? Does the object of the preposition, instead of the true subject 'none,' determine the verb here?

None of them are going.
None of the students were going.

None of the pies were eaten.
None of the pie was eaten.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Opinions vary. In my book, none is singular.

  • Opinions vary.
  • In my book, none is singular.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

16 Answers
0
Opinions vary.

In my book, none is singular.
0
The authorities seem to be split on this.

But your examples are all correct.

When the noun is singular, they agree the verb should be singular.

When it's plural, most feel you may use either.
Exception: If you can substitute "not one" or "no one," use the singular verb.
Not one of them has finished. (None of them has fin
0
I'd love to hear others' opinions on this.
0
I'm for notional concord! Emotion: smile
0
Differences of opinion notwithstanding, the usage notes in my AmHtg don't seem very useful.
In the sentence, "None of them has/have finished," the question of whether you could substitute "no one" or "no ones" is entirely in the mind of the speaker.
Therefore the choice reverts to "notional concord" - whatever's in your head.

Anyway, 68% of the "usage pa
0
AvangiThe authorities seem to be split on this.
I don't pretend to be an authority, and I know that Avangi knows that. I just try to make all grammatical "rules" make sense to me, at least.
0
Hi, Philip,

My post was only two minutes behind yours, and I didn't see what you'd written until afterward.

You wrote "Opinions vary." I wrote "Authorities are split," or something like that.

I thought we came out pretty close on that point.
0
None is a shortened form of Not one, so should strictly take a singular verb: Not one of them is going. Not one of the students is going. Not one of the pies was eaten. In actual usage, however, the plural form is far more common, which in my view makes it perfectly acceptable in all but the most formal situations.
0
It's a mistake to think it comes from "no one."

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-non2.htm

The argument stems from a misunderstanding of where the word comes from. People assume that none is a condensed form of no one

Related Questions