0
Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

None of these apply or applies

0 02br
02br
00We are having an arguement at my office over which of the following is correct;02br
02br
00None of the provisions of the Family Law Act, 1981 (hereinafter called "the Act of 1981") apply to the property because 02br
02br
00None of the provisions of the Family Law Act, 1981 (hereinafter called "the Act of 1981") applies to the Property because 02br
02br
00I asked a freind who has a good english education and here is her answer.02br
02br
00Well, none can be either plural or singular. The verb agrees with the prepostition of none. In the case above, it should be "apply." The provisions apply....02br
02br
00Any thoughts,02br
02br
00Regards,02br
02br
00Donal02br
00 0-
  

Top answer

0-

— Yankee

Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
0It depends on whether the noun that follows 'of' is non-countable (and therefore singular) or countable (which would always be plural in this construction):02br
02br
00None of the water is ...02br
02br
00None of the beverages are ...0-
0
0
0 The BBC, the New York Times and the general Google hits tell us this is pretty clear cut: 01b00apply02b00. The reason, IMO, is 01b00proximity to the plural 02b01i00provisions02i00. 02br
02br
00 Google hits: 02br
02br
00 5 from bbc.co.uk for "none of these apply"02br
00 0 fro
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Marius Hancu12cite10The BBC, the New York Times and the general Google hits tell us this is pretty clear cut: 11b10apply12b10. The reason, IMO, is 11b10proximity to the plural 12b11i10provisions12i10. 12br
12br
10Google hits: 12br
12br
0
0
0The verb used with 'none' can be singular or plural. From what I've read, the singular verb is preferred.0-
0