Of course, it is also possible to expand upon the material in this text There are many ways you can encourage your students to go beyond what you are able to do in class. Some examples may include encouraging students to. | 64 The Grammar Book Ofc. wrkrs. N 32 MA stdnts Truckdrvrs N 36 N 33 1. a. None of the negotiations is likely to succeed. 44 b. None of the negotiations are likely to succeed. 56 19 24 78 76 3 either 2. a. None even knows how to tie shoes. 44 b. None even know how to tie shoes. 56 28 61 69 39 3 either For both questionnaire items none is notionally plural in the second item none is plural by elliptical reference since it points back presumably to some plural noun such as children. Except for the response of the Pepsi-Cola truck drivers to item 2 all respondents indicated their preference for plural verb agreement with none where none modifies or refers to a plural countable noun. Clearly the traditional prescription that none is always singular is inadequate. Additional research based on analysis of tokens from current spoken and written English should be carried out to see if a more descriptively adequate rule of usage exists. In the meantime ESL EFL teachers must be aware of the fact that when the subject none refers to a plural countable noun the plural verb inflection may well be used if current usage is any indication. Although noneis the most problematic quantifier with respect to subject-verb agreement ESL EFL learners also experience problems with the quantifiers all each and every one . The rules for subject-verb agreement with all are as follows If the noun that all modifies is a noncount subject then subject-verb agreement is singular All of the water is polluted. If nW modifies a countable plural subject noun subject-verb agreement is plural All of the students have arrived. A problem arises however when all is used to qualify a collective noun subject see Chapter 17 . Theoretically one should be able to use either singular or plural subject-verb agreement in such cases. We tested such an item with 40 native speakers of English graduate students and professors and the results seem to support this theoretical duality All of my .
