{"id":4971,"date":"2021-06-28T06:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=4971"},"modified":"2025-11-25T14:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:41:23","slug":"none-is-vs-none-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/singular-vs-plural\/none-is-vs-none-are\/","title":{"rendered":"None Is<\/em> vs. None Are<\/em>: Which Do You Use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even among those who pay attention to grammar, the none is<\/em> versus none are<\/em> debate can be a spirited one. Do you know which one is correct?<\/p>\n

We don’t want you to get it wrong or to follow misguided advice. That’s why we are going to clear things up in today’s post.<\/p>\n

As a starting point, let’s address one issue that can cause some confusion.<\/p>\n

None<\/em> Can Be Singular or Plural<\/h2>\n

Some people will tell you that none are<\/em> is always incorrect because none<\/em> is singular. However, in certain contexts, none <\/em>can carry a plural connotation.<\/p>\n

We might use none<\/em> is <\/em>when we wish to further emphasize the concept of “zero” or “not one” of something referred to.<\/p>\n

None<\/u> of the pizza is<\/u> left. Bart ate all of it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this instance, none<\/em> is singular because we are conveying that nothing (not one, zero) of the pizza remains.<\/p>\n

None<\/span> of them is<\/span> attending the optional meeting.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The singular none <\/em>indicates that not one (zero) of the collective plural group will attend.<\/p>\n

Conversely, we might use none are <\/em>when our intent is to communicate the concept of “not any” with a plural connotation. This sense of plurality can often be influenced by a plural object of a modifying prepositional phrase.<\/p>\n

I spoke to all five of my bandmates, but none<\/u> of them are<\/u> interested in storing my drums.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here, we could still use\u00a0none is\u00a0<\/em>and be grammatical. However, the adjustment from is\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>supports the idea of plurality. We also see how “bandmates” in the prepositional phrase “of my bandmates” establishes a plural context.<\/p>\n

Jens is feeling as if none<\/span> of the lottery balls are<\/span> stamped with the numbers he chose.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once again, the context of the sentence carries more of a plural connotation than a singular one. The overarching idea is that “not any are” stamped with Jens’ lucky numbers.<\/p>\n

While you will likely use none is<\/em> more often than none are<\/em> in your daily communications, simply keep in mind that sometimes none <\/em>can take a plural verb when your context comprises the concept of more than one.<\/p>\n

How to Find the Right Version of None Is<\/em> or None Are<\/em><\/h2>\n

Even with the guidelines we’ve shared, we understand it can still be tricky to choose between none is<\/em> or none are<\/em> when you aren’t sure. In those cases where you might still feel uncertain, simply follow two basic rules.<\/p>\n

1) Ask yourself whether the context seems singular or plural. If it’s singular, go with none is<\/em>, but if it’s plural, then use none are<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2) If that rule doesn’t help, then default to none is<\/em>. That usage is more accepted, and it tends to be right more often than not when both versions sound correct to you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All in all, this represents a finer point of American grammar. So, if you struggle to get it right with every reference, there’s little cause for concern. You’ll get better with practice, and it isn’t the sort of thing most others are likely to catch or correct very often.<\/p>\n

Give Your Grammar a Boost<\/h2>\n

Figuring out whether to use none is<\/em> vs. none are<\/em> is a good example of the grammatical challenges some of our readers might run into. If you want to learn more about grammar and have fun doing it, we welcome you to return to our site again soon. If you have any thoughts or questions about none is <\/em>vs. none are<\/em>, be sure to leave us a comment below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even among those who pay attention to grammar, the none is versus none are debate can be a spirited one. Do you know which one is correct? We don’t want you to get it wrong or to follow misguided advice. That’s why we are going to clear things up in today’s post. As a starting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-singular-vs-plural","category-subject-and-verb-agreement"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4971"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7394,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4971\/revisions\/7394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}