None

None ___ correct


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Tdol

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I use both. ;-)
 

RonBee

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Offhand, I would say it is none are correct. That seems most likely.

:)
 

Casiopea

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tdol said:
I use both. ;-)

I use both :wink:

Subject-Verb Agreement

:D None of the answers are correct. (none = not any)
:D The answers are incorrect.

Compare singular:

:D The answer is incorrect.
:( None of the answer is correct.

The verb 'is' is fine. It's 'the answer' that's the problem.

"none" requires a plural object (i.e. 'answers'):

:D None of the answers ....


Note, however, none can also mean, "not one (item)", as in

:D None of the food is fresh. (not one (item))
:D Not one item of food is fresh.

When 'none of X' refers to 'not one (item)', the verb is singular.

Consider now:

:D None of the answers is correct.
:D Not one of the answers is correct.

:D None of the answers are correct.
:D Not any of the answers are correct.


Cas :D
 

RonBee

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Um, that should be

  • Not one of the answers is correct.

:wink:
 

RonBee

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Casiopea said:
tdol said:
I use both. ;-)

I use both :wink:

Subject-Verb Agreement

:D None of the answers are correct. (none = not any)
:D The answers are incorrect.

Compare singular:

:D The answer is incorrect.
:( None of the answer is correct.

The verb 'is' is fine. It's 'the answer' that's the problem.

"none" requires a plural object (i.e. 'answers'):

:D None of the answers ....


Note, however, none can also mean, "not one (item)", as in

:D None of the food is fresh. (not one (item))
:D Not one item of food is fresh.

When 'none of X' refers to 'not one (item)', the verb is singular.

Consider now:

:D None of the answers is correct.
:D Not one of the answers is correct.

:D None of the answers are correct.
:D Not any of the answers are correct.


Cas :D

That is quite a good explanation. :D

Also, I now realize that my "correction" was in error. :oops:

Thank you for being so gracious.

:D
 

Casiopea

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I now realize that my "correction" was in error. :oops:

No-no. I edited it after you had pointed it out. 'Twas my error. The sentence was incorrect.

To err is human, not RonBee. :D

Hmm. What are the implications of that?
 

RonBee

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Tdol

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I use 'are' most of the time, 'is' formally. As Cas pointed out 'none of them' is almost always plural. ;-)
 

Isra

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so it depends from the context of the sentence, I thought "is",may be is correct and are;)
 

abra

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"Tdol:I use 'are' most of the time, 'is' formally."
Does it seem to be a BrE rule?
 

philadelphia

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Here's the answer: None is correct.

But None is correct, aren't they? ;-)
 

Huda-M

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NONE is correct!!! yeah!
 

bebe heart

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Okay, now I am confused. Which is correct? None, is, or both? None of your answers are correct.:?: None of your answers is correct.:?: None of your answer is correct.????? Anybody?
 

Charlie Bernstein

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Where I come from, none is not a contraction of not any. It's a contraction not one or no one and is singular.

In the example above:

:D None of the answers are correct.

. . . the sentence's subject is none, not answers. This is where diagramming helps: None [of the answers] is correct.

But informally, are is often used instead, and it's hard to object very strenuously. I lump none with words like media and data: whether it's plural or singular seems to be mostly a matter of preference these days.

[I do have limits, though. They is not a substitute for he, she, or he or she!]
 
Last edited:

Charlie Bernstein

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Okay, now I am confused. Which is correct? None, is, or both? None of your answers are correct.:?: None of your answers is correct.:?: None of your answer is correct.????? Anybody?

You'll see my opinion above. But have you looked it up yet? What did you find?
 

GoesStation

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Where I come from, none is not a contraction of not any. It's a contraction not one or no one and is singular.

<SNIP>

But informally, are is often used instead, and it's hard to object very strenuously.

I don't agree. As many authorities have written, none can be singular or plural but plural is usually best. It's not a matter of formality but of appropriate usage. It follows the same pattern as zero, which is plural.

[I do have limits, though. They is not a substitute for he, she, or he or she!]
If the singular they was good enough for Shakespeare and Jane Austen, it's good enough for me.
 

PaulMatthews

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I don't agree. As many authorities have written, none can be singular or plural but plural is usually best. It's not a matter of formality but of appropriate usage. It follows the same pattern as zero, which is plural.

None of your answers is/are correct.

Consider also: If there are N answers, and none of them could be considered correct, that makes N altogether that are incorrect, so the plural (None of your answers are correct) should be right.
 

MikeNewYork

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The singular is correct if "none" stands for "not one".
 

Donna Norton

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I'd go with IS. My trick is to answer just "None" :-D
 
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