EducationAisle wrote:
nahid78 wrote:
Rule 2:
None + of the + plural count noun + plural verb
Example: None of the students have finished the exam yet.
This is slightly debatable. #27, OG13:
None of the attempts to specify the causes of crime explains why most of the people exposed to the alleged causes do not commit crimes and, conversely, why so many of those not so exposed have.
Yes, that's quite true! Excellent observation!
The word "
none" etymologically derives from "
no one." Because "
no one" is singular, sometimes "
none" is construed to be singular. In practice, the use is subtle. If we are indicating something about a group of people, say several students taking a test, then statement "
none of the students ____ finished the exam yet" is essentially a group statement. All of the students are involved in the group action of taking the test, and the entire group is in an unfinished state. Thus, in this context, "
none" is construed as plural, and take the plural verb.
"
None of the students have finished the exam yet."
By contrast, in the
OG statement, we are using "
none" more in its etymological sense of "
no one" or "
not one." There is no "cooperation" or "group action" among the various attempts. Each attempt to explain is an unique endeavor. Thus, the statement is not a statement primarily about the "group" of these attempts. Instead, we are saying that no single attempt was able to explain something. With this in mind, the singular reading is chosen, with the singular verb.
"
None of the attempts to specify the causes of crime explains why . . . "
As always, logic is more important that grammar. Logic always trumps grammar. Thus, the attempt here to formulate a simple one-size-fits-all grammar rule founders on the shoals of logic.
Does all this make sense?
Mike
_________________
Mike McGarry
Magoosh Test PrepEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)