UK/US English

[watervole]

[Poll #1291053]There are cases where UK and US English differ and I think this may be one of them.  It may also be one of those cases where I'm drawn to what I think the US version is.

It's also relevant as I'm editing a book for an American writer and want to make sure I have the correct version for America.

Comments

[esmeraldus-neo.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. The first is a matter of where to place the emphasis, on individuals or the unit. The second you can test by removing the clause (of the team). It's still not crystal clear, but "None were" seems more correct, because none does seem to be obviously plural so takes a plural verb.

I just woke up so I can't actually prove that you wouldn't use "none" if you only had one guy there. I'm working on it, but right now I only have half my brain.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

On the contrary; "none" is singular, because as steverogerson observes it is a contraction of "not one". Not one of the team was correctly dressed.