Re: org-grep, and problems

[James Harkins <jamshark70@gmail.com>]

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On Oct 15, 2013 2:19 AM, "Jonathan Leech-Pepin" <
jonathan.leechpepin@gmail.com> wrote:.
> > 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.

I don't want to drag it out much further as it's well off topic, but... I
did some checking and found (for the most part) that what I said *used* to
be true, but that the usage has been shifting for a good century or two (to
allow "none" to be plural). So I concede that point (and learned something
today, which I like).

From the few grammar sites I checked, it seems that a plural "none" is
definitely accepted in speech and informal writing. One site mentioned that
formal writing may more often call for none to take a singular verb,
regardless of the associated noun. But Facebook, twitter and texting have
basically killed formal writing already, so, soon even that caveat will be
gone.

I did not find any sites claiming that it's mandatory to give "none" a
plural verb if it appears with a plural noun. All of those sites at least
gave lip service to its origin as "not one of" -- e.g. "not one of the
groups is going" -- so my preference for the singular verb is justified,
though not my claim that the other is flat-out incorrect.

Thanks... Glad to learn I can cross that one off my grammar police list.

hjh

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