[General] None vs. no one

Status
Not open for further replies.

terrenziqq

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
If "none" refers to a person in a sentence, can it be replaced with "no one" ? If no, could you tell me the difference between them? Could you give me examples? Thanks a lot.:-D
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
If "none" refers to a person in a sentence, can it be replaced with "no one" ? If no, could you tell me the difference between them? Could you give me examples? Thanks a lot.:-D
You could say "I went into the room, no one was there" but you can't say "I went into the room, none was there". You could say "I went into the room looking for John, Mary and Jim, none (of them) were there." Can you see why?
 

opa6x57

Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I'm not sure I understand this part: If "none" refers to a person in a sentence

Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to give an example of this usage.


But, I can think of some examples of usage:

None of them were willing to go.
No one volunteered to go.


None of the members present voted against the proposal.
No one at the meeting voted against the proposal.
(Or, No one voted against the proposal.)



=============================
Not a teacher, 53-year-old American.
=============================
… and that’s my opinion
 

terrenziqq

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Taiwan
Current Location
Taiwan
I'm not sure I understand this part: If "none" refers to a person in a sentence

Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to give an example of this usage.
To opa6x57:
I mean some may say the difference between them is "no one" can only be referred to humanbeings while none can be referred to lifeless items. So, I gave the condition in advance.
Thank you both for the good answers. I really aprreciate your help.:)
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
To opa6x57:
I mean some may say the difference between them is "no one" can only be referred to humanbeings while none can be referred to lifeless items. So, I gave the condition in advance.
Thank you both for the good answers. I really aprreciate your help.:)

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Terrenziqq,


(1) I just wanted to respectfully remind you that "none" can

absolutely refer to human beings, too.

(2) Many times I will read or hear a sentence such as:

There was an airplane crash. Fortunately, none of the

passengers died. (None = n(ot) + one)


***** NOT A TEACHER *****
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5jj

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
As Parser helpfully suggested, think of 'none' as meaning 'not one'; I would add " or 'not any'". Think of 'no one' as 'no person'.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top