Subscribe by Email

Your email:

Call for Blog Articles

Want to share your experiences, advice, or ideas with the GrammarPhile community? Do you have grammar, punctuation, editing questions you'd like answered? Submit guest post ideas or questions to conni@proofreadnow.com.

Alltop. We're kind of a big deal.

Posts by popularity

Posts by category

The GrammarPhile Blog

Current Articles | RSS Feed RSS Feed

NONE - Is it singular or plural?

Posted by Phil Jamieson on Tue, Mar 01, 2011 @ 05:08
  
  
  
  

As a pronoun, none means (1) not any, (2) not one, (3) not any such thing or person, and (4) no part.

Overzealous proofreaders may want to keep the verb associated with none singular, basing their thinking on the derivation of none from Old English "not one."

But the universal view among grammarians today is that none can be either singular or plural, depending on what you mean in your sentence.

Determine your verb by considering the noun that follows of in the phrase introduced by none: if the noun is singular, make the verb singular. If the noun is plural, base your choice on whether you would be more inclined to use not one (singular) or not any (plural) after none.


  • None of the jobs have [or has] been completed yet. (The choice here hinges on whether the intended meaning of the sentence is better served by not one of the jobs [singular] or not any of the jobs [plural].)
  • None of the water skiers has arrived at the lake yet. (Intended meaning: Not one of the water skiers has arrived yet.)
  • None of the water skiers have arrived at the lake yet. (Intended meaning: Not any of the water skiers have arrived.)

Source: Grammar for Smart People by Barry Tarshis.



We're passionate about writing -- YOURS! Try us out and see how we can help your writing. Click here to find out how you can get a Level 1 proofreading service at no charge!

 

 

Comments

So, really, it's just how you want to think of it? None has posted -- not even one single reader has posted a comment. None have posted -- not any of the myriad readers have posted a comment. Though I have to say that the plural here sounds better to me....
Posted @ Tuesday, March 01, 2011 11:50 by Merilyn Vaughn
The plural does sound better, but the examples place plural nouns next to the verbs. Does anyone have an example of a singular verb paired with "none"?
Posted @ Tuesday, March 01, 2011 1:15 PM by Jenny 'Rock
I was taught that it depends on the noun closest to the verb. In your examples, all of them would be plural if I continue to follow what I've learned. I think of it as "not one" of many. Wouldn't that make it plural?
Posted @ Tuesday, March 01, 2011 2:48 PM by Mia
To all commenters so far: The ear is often the best judge. The takeaway from the multiple forms described can be that the usage need reflect your meaning, and the reader can then figure what you mean by whether you use a singular or a plural verb following. PAJ
Posted @ Tuesday, March 01, 2011 4:27 PM by Phil Jamieson
Post Comment
Name
 *
Email
 *
Website (optional)
Comment
 *

Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics