As of this morning, none of my friends have been able to solve the puzzle contained in last week's newspaper.
(A) none of my friends have been able to solve
have agrees with friends. Correct!
(B) none of my friends was able to solve
was should be were to agree with friends
(C) not one of my friends has yet been able to solve
None of my friends is a better idiom.
(D) none of my friends has been able to solve
has should be have.
(E) nobody among my friends have solved
Awkward
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If I look absent-minded or insane, I am just living a dream of being successful. If you still wonder why I am like this, you have no idea how success tastes like!

i think D is correct as per GMAT... i saw one example in sample questions of OG.. that uses 'none' as singular. i will check the problem #, sentence was not testing usage of 'none', but the word just appeared in the sentence. so not sure if its tested in GMAT.

But use of 'none' is controversial - http://www.grammarmudge.cityslide.com/a ... 3/9903.htm

Dear agdimple333

please bring that question into light
and if you come across any such question from some other sources as well
your most welcome
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WarLocK
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The War is oNNNNNNNNNNNNN for 720+
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Dude they say None is singular..........

so whats your take on this

we should consider None as singular or plural???
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WarLocK
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The War is oNNNNNNNNNNNNN for 720+
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In this case, I agree with you that "None" may imply anything here. Further details will definitely help to figure what exactly is needed in this question. But in most cases none would be plural such as "None of my friends", "None of my shirts", and "None of your programs".There are very few cases in which I found OK to use singular with NONE such as "It is none of your business", "None of your code is working" and "None of the above is correct".
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If I look absent-minded or insane, I am just living a dream of being successful. If you still wonder why I am like this, you have no idea how success tastes like!

Dude
I think We can separate the above problem by making a general rule
for None Of....XXXX(plural) construction type of questions we will take it as plural

what do you say this will solve the problem of above question as well
none is more concentrated [this is not None Of....XXXX(plural) ] hence singular...

share your views..
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WarLocK
_____________________________________________________________________________
The War is oNNNNNNNNNNNNN for 720+
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I didn't ask to reinvent the wheel
we all have got all material of the world
the very purpose of the forum is to bring easy understanding
if this simple understanding is going to help any one then the purpose is served
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WarLocK
_____________________________________________________________________________
The War is oNNNNNNNNNNNNN for 720+
see my Test exp here http://gmatclub.com/forum/my-test-experience-111610.html
do not hesitate me giving kudos if you like my post.

according to MGMAT answer is A
as none will be considered plural in this case
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WarLocK
_____________________________________________________________________________
The War is oNNNNNNNNNNNNN for 720+
see my Test exp here http://gmatclub.com/forum/my-test-experience-111610.html
do not hesitate me giving kudos if you like my post.

Hmm picked A as well. Need to refresh SANAM pronouns.

Posted from my mobile device
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Looking for Kudos

More: Seems like GMAT doesn't think "none" is a SANAM pronoun. So if, in GMAT, you see "none" PREFER SINGULAR. I thing MGMAT should add this in their book.

See OG12 SC #4 vast-tides-of-migration-105900.html
Right answer is: Of all the vast tides of migration that have swept through history, perhaps none was more concentrated than the wave that brought 12 million immigrants onto American shores in little more than three decades.

This example proves my point. Anyways, whatever . If GMAT says Singular, I will take that as true - I don't care anymore :p

If someone has a strong objection or knows a spy working undercover in GMAT, please give post your alter-thoughts