Explaining verb agreement in English
The user wants clarity on why "have" is singular in the first sentence and "be" is plural in the second. This happens because "none" can be either singular or plural depending on context. It agrees with meaning: singular when focusing on "not one" (e.g., no one), plural when referring to multiple people (like "friends"). The first sentence emphasizes no one coming, while the second refers to multiple people not being interested.
Understanding "none" agreement
The sentence "None of his friends has come" uses the singular "has" because it's emphasizing "not one friend." On the other hand, "None of his friends are interested" uses "are" because it focuses on the group. For countable nouns, you can choose singular or plural depending on emphasis, and both are accepted in informal contexts.
Considering subject-verb agreement
"None of his friends are interested" sounds more natural because "interest" as a subject complement usually pairs with plural. "None of his friends has come" uses singular because it's focusing on "not one," which is grammatically acceptable, though more formal. British English tends to prefer plural more often, while American English may favor singular in formal writing.
Clarifying subject-verb agreement
"None of the cake is left" (uncountable) vs. "None of the students were late" and "None of the students was late" (both acceptable). While plural is acceptable when referring to a group, singular sounds better when emphasizing "not one" (e.g., "None of his three friends has come"). Grammatical vs. notional agreement can add nuances depending on context.
Thought for 22s
