1. None of the guests (has, have) left.
2. Each of these apples (is, are) ripe.
3.One of my favorite songwriters (is, are) Billy Joel.
4.Some of my cousins (has, have) come to my party.
5.All of the bread (was, were) eaten.
Tell if the indefinite pronoun is singular or plural then choose correct word.
1.Plural=have
2.singular=are
3.singular=is
4.Plural=have
5.singular=was
The first two are wrong.
The last three are correct.
1.plural=has
2.singular=is
1. None is singular. None has . . .
2. is correct now.
Can you please explain how none is singular in sentence #1? I know that all, any, more, most, none, and some may be either singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.
Although I always taught that "none" is singular, apparently in current usage it can be either singular or plural. I still think it's singular in your sentence because it means no one. However, your text materials may consider it plural. Check these sites for more information.
http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/hobgoblins/
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html
Thanks that makes since to be now. Let me try a few more that can be either just to make sure I understand.
1.All of the actors (knows, know) their lines.
2. Most of the plants (needs, need) water.
3.Now more of the waiters (seems, seem) busy.
1.plural=know
2.plural=need
3.plural=seem
I'm glad the status of "none" makes sense to you. This seems to be an example of language rules changing -- and at this time the only "right" answer is the one the editor wants.
Your last answers are correct!
2.Plural=has
1.Singular=is