Thread by @HenryWFowler

1. A week ago, I was in a minor kerfuffle with some editors and word authorities over “none”—singular or plural?

2. It began with @monachareneppc, who said a Trump spokewoman was wrong to say “None of us are perfect.”

@monacharenEPPC 3. “None of us is,” said Mona, and I thought she was right.

@monacharenEPPC 4. Then came the storm. Fowler, OED, other authorities were cited. “None” need not be singular and is more often plural! Well …

@monacharenEPPC 5. More needs saying. I appreciate authorities cited by @Jan_Freeman & @Mededitor, & I don’t deny that “none” is often rightly plural.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor 6. But what’s the default & what’s the variation? And how helpful are the authorities?

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor 7. HWF is cursory. “It is a mistake to suppose that the pronoun is sing. only…the OED explicitly states that pl. construction is commoner.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor 8. Today’s OED says: “singular concord…has generally been less common than plural concord, especially between the 17th and 19th centuries.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor 9. What is most common today? @BryanAGarner in GMEU says “none of them is” and “none of them are” appear equally often.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 10. On the other hand, he reports that “none is” appears 50% more often than tops “none are.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 11. Frequency ratios describe, but, Follett says, “statistics are vain when they do not take account of meaning." We need to prescribe.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 12. @Mededitor sent a screenshot of T. Bernstein saying none is “plural unless there is a definite reason to regard it as a singular.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 13. So there's a prescription: none is by default plural, and singular only by variation or exception. Is Bernstein right?

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 14. Or we could distinguish as @BryanAGarner does: “see which fits the meaning of the sentence, *not one is* or *not any are*.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 15. This distinction is useful but limited. OED's entry on "none" gives examples of the "none is" and "none are" types, but no clear rule.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 16. Follett is most helpful: “in some contexts none means *not a single one*, making singularity emphatic, …

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 17. … whereas in other contexts it means no two, no few, no several, no fraction of many.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 18. He implies a default singular: "Obviously *none* should be given a plural verb wherever a singular one would produce awkwardness."

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 19. Follett ends with this good reminder: “Untouched by these comments is a *none*, inherently singular, that means no amount, no part.”

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 20. Let’s take a fresh look. Like “everyone” & “someone,” “none” is an indefinite pronoun, generally classed among the singulars.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 21. Notional it may be, but notionally it should have an antecedent like any pronoun—actual or hypothetical.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 22. Indication of what that antecedent is will often come some considerable distance after “none” appears.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 23. So all the sentences beginning with tweet 25 are correct in treating “none” as singular or plural as the case may be.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 24. Those meaning “not one” are singular, while “not any” can vary, sometimes fitting Follett’s “no part of a singular” category.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 25. None of these is the man I’m looking for. (not one man)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 26. None of you fellows are going anywhere. (not any fellows)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 27. There is none like her, none. (not one woman; Tennyson, quoted in OED)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 28. None are more ignorant of them than those learned Pedants … (not any students; Fielding, q. in OED)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 29. None of the boys was willing to put himself to the test. (not one boy)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 30. None but the hardiest souls attempt such things. (not any souls)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 31. None of us is entitled to cast the first stone. (not one person among us; Follett’s example)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 32. None of the commentators agree on the meaning of this passage (no two of them; Follett’s example)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 33. None of this difficulty is going away any time soon. (no part of it, not any of it)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 34. None of my friends are here yet. (not any friends)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 35. None of my old college friends is the right one to ask to be my daughter’s godmother. (not one friend is the one)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 36. None of these books has the precise information I’m looking for. (not one book has it)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 37. None of these books are worth a damn for answering my question. (not any of the books taken together)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 38. None of the food in the refrigerator was still fresh enough to eat safely. (no part of it)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 39. I’ve tried all day to think of one more example, but none comes to mind. (not one more example)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 40. Of all the old classmates I can recall, none are retired yet. (not any of them)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 41. As bad as some of my old classmates were, none was the jerk you are. (not one was that guy)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 42. None of my kids are as spoiled as that. (not any of them are)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 43. None of my kids is that kind of goody-two-shoes. (not one is that kind of kid)

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner 44. None of us is perfect. (not one person among us) FINIS.

@monacharenEPPC @jan_freeman @Mededitor @BryanAGarner Poor editing here. Strike the word “tops."

Asking @threadreaderapp to unroll this thread from a year ago.