None & Neither

Thank you for your explanation. To make several things clear, I'd like to ask some more questions.

1.None

a. You said 'none of his sons' are considered a singular group like they. Do you mean that it('none of his sons') is considered as a plural?

b. You mentioned that 'There is none left.', and the other examples sound too casual for you. Does that mean native speakers don't say like that these days?

c. I will write down the 'Grammar Point' from my dictionary(Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 8th edition) here.

• none of

When you use none of with an uncountable noun, the verb is in the singular: None of the work was done.

When you use none of with a plural noun or pronoun, or a singular noun referring to a group of people or things, you can use either a singular or a plural verb. The singular form is used in a formal style in BrE: None of the trains is/are going to London. None of her family has/have been to college.

According to the dictionary, I think 'None of his sons lives with him.' is also correct. Am I understanding something wrong? Or, is it only for the aspect of grammar? Maybe is the usage changing as time goes by? What is 'a formal style in British English' exactly?

2.Neither

How about this sentence: Neither men trust the other?

Thank you for reading, and I am looking forward to your answer.

I'll answer your questions in turn:

1a) Singular group or plural

'None of his sons' tells me that there's more than one son, so there are 2 or more. This means it is a plural. However, the plurals are grouped together. It is exactly the same as 'they'.

1b) There are none left - informal

Native speakers do say it and so you should be aware of it.

1c) Plural noun or singular pronoun / singular pronoun

Your dictionary is correct in that both the singular and plural form of the verb can be used. However, it very rarely is. If the subject is easily in the plural / countable form then, in my strong opinion, you should use the singular form of the verb.

"None of the trains are going to London."

'None of the trains' = more than one train

are = verb 'be' used with plural pronouns (we, they, you)

going = continuous form of the verb 'go'

to London = where the train is going

I feel that using 'is' here is wrong.

I'll change the pronoun in italics so you can see:

None of the trains are going to London.

The trains are not going to London.

They are not going to London.

"None of her family have / has been to college."

I feel less strongly about this one because 'family' could be one person, or many people. If I was the speaker and talking about 'family' (made up of one person) I'd use 'has'. If I was the speaking and about 'family' (made up of more than one person) I'd use 'have'.

None of her family have been to college.

Her family have not been to college.

They have not been to college.

None of her family has been to college.

Her family has not been to college.

He / she has not been to college.

"None of the snow has melted."

'Snow' is a regular, unambiguous, uncountable noun. We would use 'has' here.

None of the snow has melted.

The snow has not melted.

It has not melted.

"None of the money has been spent."

'Money' is an uncountable noun and we would use 'has'.

None of the money has been spent.

The money has not been spent.

It has not been spent.

"None of his sons live with him."

I do not think 'lives' is correct here. 'Sons' means that there is more than one and so the verb, for me, needs to be 'live'.

None of his sons live with him.

His sons do not live with him.

They do not live with him.

Grammatically you can say 'None of his sons lives with him' but it is not natural to my ear.

General rule:

• If the subject is countable and a plural (trains, sons) use the plural verb (are, live).

• If the subject is uncountable and singular (snow) use the singular verb (is).

• If the subject is uncountable but could be made up of more than one unit (family) you can use either the singular or plural verb (is / are). It is speaker dependent.

2) Yes, that sentence is correct. I'd still prefer 'neither man trusts the other' as it is more natural to me.