Which is correct?
- None of us does
- None of us do
In replying to this question, I can do no better than to quote from the excellent book by Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar:
One special problem occurs with the word none, which has its origin in the phrase not one. Because of that original meaning, many writers insist that none always be singular, as not one clearly is. However, a more accurate way to assess its meaning is to recognize none as the negative, or opposite, of all and to treat it in the same way, with its number determined by the number of the modifier.
Kolln provides a few examples to demonstrate the logic of her claim:
- All of the cake was left.
- None of the cake was left.
- All of the cookies were left.
- None of the cookies were left.
So, in the questioner’s example sentence, it appears that the correct version would be the second: “None of us do…”
What do my fellow English geeks out there think?