"None of" and "Neither of" Agreement in Technical English
5 exercises — practise verb agreement after "none of" and "neither of" in test reporting and technical reviews.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence uses the more formal, traditionally preferred agreement after "none of"?
"None of the unit tests was affected by the refactor" follows the traditional formal rule that "none" is treated as singular (from "not one"), taking a singular verb even when followed by a plural noun. Option B uses the plural "were", which is common and accepted informally but not the strictly formal choice this question asks for. Option C incorrectly uses the singular noun "test" after "of", which does not match "none of" implying a set. Option D uses a non-finite form with no auxiliary, leaving the sentence incomplete.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence with correct agreement for "neither of", which always takes a singular verb in formal usage.
"Neither of the two replicas has synced correctly" is correct: unlike "none of", "neither of" is consistently treated as singular in formal usage, so it takes the singular verb "has" even with the plural noun "replicas". Option B incorrectly uses the plural "have", which is common informally but not the strict formal rule. Option C uses the singular "replica", which is inconsistent with "the two". Option D uses a non-finite "having synced" with no finite auxiliary, leaving the sentence incomplete.
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly reflects that "none of" with an uncountable noun always takes a singular verb?
"None of the configuration data was corrupted during the migration" is correct: with an uncountable noun like "data" used in the mass sense, "none of" always takes a singular verb, with no informal plural alternative. Option B incorrectly uses the plural "were" with an uncountable noun. Option C incorrectly pluralizes "data" as "datas", which is nonstandard. Option D uses a non-finite form with no finite auxiliary, leaving the sentence incomplete.
4 / 5
Select the sentence with correct, natural-sounding informal agreement after "none of" in a spoken standup update.
"None of the flaky tests are failing consistently, so it's hard to reproduce" is correct: in everyday spoken usage, especially a standup update, plural agreement with "none of + plural noun" is standard and natural, unlike the stricter written rule. Option B uses the more formal singular "is", which sounds stiff and less natural for this spoken register, so it is not the best fit for this context. Option C uses the singular "test", which is inconsistent with the plural quantity implied. Option D omits the auxiliary "are", leaving an incomplete verb phrase.
5 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "neither of" with singular agreement in a formal architecture review?
"Neither of the proposed solutions fully addresses the scaling requirement" is correct: "neither of" takes a singular verb, "addresses", regardless of the plural noun "solutions" that follows. Option B incorrectly uses the plural "address". Option C uses the singular "solution", which is inconsistent since "neither of" requires a following plural noun phrase referring to two or more items. Option D drops the required "of" after "neither", which is needed before a definite plural noun phrase like "the proposed solutions".