Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Marrion]

Not one of your answers is correct.
=None of your answers are correct.

If these two sentences have the same meaning,,,,

[1] One of your answers is not correct.
=[2] None of your answers are correct.

Do [1] and [2] have the same meaning?

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Another question..

[3] Not all of the people are happy.
[4] =All of the peopel are not happy.

From above, do [3] and [4] have the same meaning?

[Tao]

Not one of your answers is correct.
=None of your answers are correct.
None means not one, so yes, same meaning.

For the other sentences�
1 & 2 do not have the same meaning.
1�means all answers are correct except one
2�means exactly what it says, nothing is correct

3 & 4 do not have the same meaning.
3�implies that some of the people are happy but not all
4�means exactly what it says, none of the people are happy
_________________
TAO

[Marrion]

Thank you very much!!!^^

May you be in happiness!!!

[IanT]

Also ...

if you want to be very correct ...

it should be

"none of your answers is correct",

because "none", meaning "not one", is singular.

But most native speakers have not known or ignored this for a long time, so don't worry too much!
_________________
All my answers refer to British English.

www.EnglishSwearing.com - How to use all the bad words! ... and ... www.throdworld.com - Silly verses to make you happy.

You decide the price for both!

[Tao]

A common misconception is that none must always be treated as singular. The customary support for this view is that none necessarily means "not one" (implying singularity); in fact, "none" is just as likely to imply "not any" (implying plurality). As noted in The American Heritage Dictionary: "the word has been used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward. The plural usage appears in the King James Bible as well as the works of John Dryden and Edmund Burke and is widespread in the works of respectable writers today."
_________________
TAO

[IanT]

Thank you! I sit corrected.

If only my childhood teachers were still alive, so I could go back and tell them too!

Having said that, the word is clearly derived from "not one", so I bet the plural use was incorrect when it first happened.

Anyway, thanks again for the info.
_________________
All my answers refer to British English.

www.EnglishSwearing.com - How to use all the bad words! ... and ... www.throdworld.com - Silly verses to make you happy.

You decide the price for both!