Hello,

On Oct 14, 2013 10:43 AM, "James Harkins" <jamshark70@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> R. Michael Weylandt <michael.weylandt <at> gmail.com> <michael.weylandt <at>
> gmail.com> writes:
>
> > On Oct 10, 2013, at 11:50, François Pinard <pinard <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > P.S. What is proper English: "nobody remember" or "nobody remembers"?
> > >
> >
> > Remembers. 'Nobody' counts as singular, as does 'no one'. English isn't
> totally consistent on this
> > matter, however, as 'none' takes a plural verb.
> >
> > No one is brave enough to skip the meeting, even though none of the bosses
> are going to attend.
>
> Actually, I think the latter clause is incorrect usage. The verb's subject is
> "none," not "bosses"; since the subject is singular, the verb form should be
> singular as well. It "feels wrong" to have a singular verb immediately after a
> plural noun, but that noun properly belongs to the preposition, not the verb.
>
> I'm voting for "none of the bosses is going to attend."

None is a bit of an odd case, since it reflects the plurality of the associated noun.

None of the group is going...
None of the groups are going...
None of the bosses are going to attend.

Some, most, all also follow that pattern:
All of the group is...
All of the bosses are...

Group allows for both the plural and similar case since even one group still has multiple members (at least it implies such).

Jon

> hjh
>
>