None sigular of plural

Question

Hi,I searched much on websites on the Web to recognize the correct use of the noun "none" in sentences, but no clear result!How do you grammarians use it in your sentences? Is the case related to Old, Middle or Modern English? Does it refer to British or American English?Thanks in advance.

GPY · Accepted Answer

See the usage note at https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/none

I'm not aware that there are any differences between AmE and BrE in respect of this issue.

Anonymous · Answer

I conclude it this way:

If the meaning of none is "not any" and any in terms of one, two, or more, a little or more. I use the plural verb.

And if none means "no one" I use the singular verb.

Agree?

But how to be sure about that assumption? for example, please consider these sentence:

‘Later, 26 children and one teacher went to hospital, but none was seriously injured.’
‘Everybody is fully aware of this fact but none demonstrates determination to tackle it.’
How can you assure yourself that "none" there means "no one" and not "not any". That is why I asked, how do you grammarians use it in your sentences?

Jake Magnum · Answer

Hi.

I'm not sure if this will answer your question adequately, but hopefully it helps a little.

None is an indefinite pronoun (that is, a pronoun that does not refer to a specific person or thing) meaning "not any."

Many people have trouble deciding whether to treat none as a singular or plural pronoun. While most indefinite pronouns are treated as singular pronouns, none is an exception -- none can be treated as either singular or plural depending on what noun it refers to.

If the noun would normally be followed by a singular form of a verb, then none is treated as singular: "None of the money was stolen." If the noun would normally be followed by a plural form of a verb, then none is treated as plural: "None of the cookies were stolen."

None can be used without having its referent noun in the same sentence. In these cases, the context would determine whether none should be treated as singular or plural. If a passage is about money, "None was stolen," should be used; if a passage is about cookies, "None were stolen," is correct.

Anonymous · Answer

firstly I thank you for your answer.

I think by "singular/plural form of a verb" you meant "singular/plural form of a noun/pronoun".

But I think it still is on the contrary to the example sentences of that dictionary, for example:

Later, 26 children and one teacher went to hospital, but none was seriously injured.

Here "none" refers to those children, which is plural.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Did you try a dictionary? This entry has everything you might be looking for. See my underlined italics below.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/none

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 an, "one," but the word has been used as both a singular and a plural since the ninth century. The plural usage appears in the King James Bible ("All the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold ... none were of silver") as well as the works of canonical writers like Shakespeare, John Dryden, and Edmund Burke. It is widespread in the works of respectable writers today. Of course, the singular usage is perfectly acceptable. Choosing between singular or plural is thus more of a stylistic matter than a grammatical one. 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 is most often treated as plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal supporters believe (not believes) his story.

None sigular of plural

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