None
- Thread starter Tdol
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tdol said:
I use both :wink:
Subject-Verb Agreement
None of the answers are correct. (none = not any) The answers are incorrect.Compare singular:
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'):
None of the answers .... Note, however, none can also mean, "not one (item)", as in
None of the food is fresh. (not one (item)) Not one item of food is fresh.When 'none of X' refers to 'not one (item)', the verb is singular.
Consider now:
None of the answers is correct. Not one of the answers is correct. None of the answers are correct. Not any of the answers are correct. Cas
RonBee
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Casiopea said:tdol said:
I use both :wink:
Subject-Verb Agreement
Compare singular:
The verb 'is' is fine. It's 'the answer' that's the problem.
"none" requires a plural object (i.e. 'answers'):
Note, however, none can also mean, "not one (item)", as in
When 'none of X' refers to 'not one (item)', the verb is singular.
Consider now:
Cas
That is quite a good explanation.
Also, I now realize that my "correction" was in error.
Thank you for being so gracious.
philadelphia
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Here's the answer: None is correct.
But None is correct, aren't they? ;-)
But None is correct, aren't they? ;-)
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:
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!]
In the example above:
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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You'll see my opinion above. But have you looked it up yet? What did you find?
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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.
If the singular they was good enough for Shakespeare and Jane Austen, it's good enough for me.
PaulMatthews
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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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