[Grammar] none of the members are

[Oceanlike]

I find "none of" confusing when I think of the verb to use. Sometimes, it looks like the verb should be 'singular' because of 'none of'. Sometimes, it looks like the verb should be plural because the subject is countable.

(A) None of the members was/were ready to sign the papers. (None of the members 'was' sounds strange.)

(B) None of the students was/were participating in the performance. (Again, I find using 'was' sounds strange.)

Which is correct? And why?

Thank you.

 

[GoesStation]

Like "zero", "none" is generally plural when used naturally with countable nouns.