Mr Patrick  +  271473 Sat, 23 Sep 06 11:54 PM The following problem came up in class today: None of us was/were able to communicate with the alien.  Now, I was taught to find the head subject and then form the verb according to the number of this head subject, but here I am not sure whether none of modifies us (> were) or of us modifies none (> was).  Oddly, Google has this to say: none of us was able (1.460 occurences, 60%) none of us were able (970 occurences, 40%) but also, none of us is able (9.420 occurrences, 91%) none of us are able (897 occurrences, 9%) How strange!  The preference seems to change according to the tense of the verb.  What do you make of it? Can the difference in frecuency be explained by the use of subjunctive "were"?  And, which of the four varieties would you allow in an essay? Mr Patrick Joined on Thu, Jul 27 2006 Talca, Chile Junior Member 76 Verbs, Tenses, Subjunctives, Essays

	Marius Hancu  +  271475 Sat, 23 Sep 06 11:59 PM  Mr Patrick wrote: The preference seems to change according to the tense of the verb.  What do you make of it? Can the difference in frequency be explained by the use of subjunctive "were"?  I think you have a good point here. Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Veteran Member 11,673 Verbs, Tenses, Subjunctives

	Schetin  +  271489 Sun, 24 Sep 06 12:34 AM None is the subject of this sentence, that's for sure. Whether it means a single person or a group depends. In cases like this singular is preferable, unless a group of objects is meant. Even then objects can be grouped. I would use singular in most cases. Regards, Slava Schetin Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006 Moscow, Russia Full Member 243 Regards

	Yoong Liat  +  271517 Sun, 24 Sep 06 01:31 AM None of us was able. None of us were able. Both sentences are grammatically correct. The same applies when both sentences are in present tense. Yoong Liat Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006 Veteran Member 6,758 Tenses, Present Tenses

	Marius Hancu  +  275769 Tue, 03 Oct 06 06:53 PM None=zero closer to the singular than to the plural thus singular would be the first choice. Marius Hancu Plurals

	CalifJim  +  275787 Tue, 03 Oct 06 07:51 PM I've always thought of singularity as an unmarked form.  You use the singular when there is exactly one.  If there is not one, either because there are more than one or less than one, the marked form should be used, i.e., the plural! The zero-is-close-to-one theory breaks down when we consider that two is just as close to one as zero is, leading to None of us is here. One of us is here. Two of us is here. (Three of us are here.) !!! I agree, however, with the advice given above. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 23,767 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Plurals

	Yoong Liat  +  275953 Wed, 04 Oct 06 09:59 AM Hi CalifJim None of us is here. One of us is here. Two of us is here. (Three of us are here.) Is it a typo? Two of us is here. Yoong Liat