Conjugaison du verbe "to be" après "none" en anglais

William M.C1Kwiziq community member

Conjugaison du verbe "to be" après "none" en anglais

Dans les notes, le prof écrivait plusieurs fois "None of them are ....".  En fait, "none" en anglais est une contraction de "not one", si la bonne conjugaison du verbe en anglais serait "None of them is .....".

Asked 7 months ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

William, 

this debate may be nearly as old as the word ‘none’ itself.  Either singular or plural verb form can be correct English grammar, depending on context, and there is a note in the lesson on this. 

There are examples of both English grammatical forms in the lesson - with the point being that the singular verb form is always used with aucun/aucune in French, regardless of whether the English form could be singular or plural.

https://www.onlinegrammar.com.au/top-10-grammar-myths-none-always-takes-a-singular-verb/ 

https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/singular-vs-plural/none-were-vs-none-was/

https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/singular-vs-plural/none-is-vs-none-are/

 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/is-none-singular-or-plural

Nick H.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Ha! Indeed, something you could argue over long into the night!!

I'm going to stick my head above the parapet and say that in less formal spoken English, where there is an option, I think you'd hear the plural verb form more often than not...

Mike H.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Just because one hears it spoken does not make it correct.  Not using "none" , try saying  "no one are going".  I have also noticed in these lessons, the use of "I've got--", another misuse often heard.

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Mike,  

comments such as this have been put forward before and countered by reference to standard English references, as has been done above in this instance. 

Just because someone doesn’t like it, doesn’t make it wrong.

 https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/present-simple-have-got

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/have-got

William M. asked:

Conjugaison du verbe "to be" après "none" en anglais

Dans les notes, le prof écrivait plusieurs fois "None of them are ....".  En fait, "none" en anglais est une contraction de "not one", si la bonne conjugaison du verbe en anglais serait "None of them is .....".

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!