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Old 27-Oct-2004, 04:45
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nautes20
Default None of...

Dear Teachers...

Which is correct, a singular verb form or a plural verb form after "none of Subject Verb [/u]

Best regards... :D
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Old 27-Oct-2004, 08:36
Natalie27
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Default Re: None of...

Quote:
Originally Posted by nautes20
Dear Teachers...

Which is correct, a singular verb form or a plural verb form after "none of Subject Verb [/u]

Best regards... :D
The pronoun "none" can be constructed as singular or plural or either - all depends on its meaning in a sentence. Most teachers and journalists stick to its singualr form.

None may mean "not one", emphasizing singualrity:

"I asked each student and none knew the answer"

You could rewrite this and say:

"I asked each student and not a single one/not one knew the answer".

In this example "none" is definitely singular.

"None" can be plural when it means not any (people, things).

ex.
"Of all the folks I know, none are more hardworking than the Smiths."
" None of the soldiers were prepared to see so many casualties".

At times, "none " can be either plural or singualr:
"Off all the bachelors I have met so far, none suits me".
Or you can say or none suit me"
"Off all the bachelors I have met so far, none suits me".

The thing to remember here is that the verb and pronoun have to agree in number.

"None of these players was over 18 and they were working very hard to win first place."

Another thing to remember about "none" is that it applies to any people or things higher in number than two.
For example:

you can say: none of my three cats are...
but you can't say: None of my two cats are...
In the last sentence you would use the word "neither".

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