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Incorrect grammar?

32 replies

ThisHereMamaBear · 03/05/2020 19:23

Ds2 loves Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson. Every night the same sentence makes me wince a bit. "I couldn't you see, none of my babies looks like me." Shouldn't it be 'look?'

OP posts:
Alonelonelyloner · 03/05/2020 19:44

I would use looks with both. Not one of those apples looks fresh .
Not one of those children looks friendly.

Look to me sounds wrong. None is a contraction of not one.
Look is just idiomatic/colloquial use not necessarily grammatically correct. Most native speakers of any language make 'mistakes'. It's how language grows.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 03/05/2020 19:44

Ooh excellent question OP. I've had a bit of a google done some research into this. I would have agreed with other PPs until I read more into it and I think you are kind of right . Though it does appear rather fuzzy! As none here refers to a plural 'none of the babies' so I think it should be 'look.' But below says you can say either:

"When is none singular?
Use a singular verb with none when what you are referring to is singular (or you want to emphasize its singleness):

None of the gossip was about me. (Not one part of the gossip was about me.)
None of the snow has melted. (Not any part of the snow has melted.)
Can you hear how none of the gossip were about me or none of the snow have melted sound wrong? We just don’t say it like that in English (that’s what the asterisk indicates).

Also use a singular verb with none when none refers back to a mass noun, like bread, electricity, or water, e.g., None of the air is polluted.

When is none plural?
Use a plural verb with none when what it is referring back to is more than one of whatever is indicated:

Three people were on the panel. None of them were women.

I bought several types of batteries, but none of them are the right kind.
Can none be both?
Yes, we can use either a singular or a plural verb based on context—based on what sounds better or clearer.

In grammar, there is a concept called notional agreement or notional concord. (If you want to get fancy, call it synesis.) Notional agreement is a construction where grammatical agreement (as between a noun and verb) is determined not by form but by meaning, as when as a plural verb is used for a technically singular noun.

Consider this pair:

None of the books is worth reading.
None of the books are worth reading.
Both are correct, and a person could choose to use either. The second, though, sounds more natural to many English speakers, as the context concerns multiple books."

synesis[ sin-uh-sis ]SHOW IPA
noun Grammar.
a construction in which an expected grammatical agreement in form is replaced by an agreement in meaning, as in The crowd rose to their feet, where a plural pronoun is used to refer to a singular noun.

ORIGIN OF SYNESIS
1890–95; < New Latin < Greek sýnesis understanding, intelligence, equivalent to syn- syn- + (h)e- (stem of hiénai to throw, send) + -sis -sis
WORDS NEARBY SYNESIS
synergism, synergist, synergistic, synergistic muscles, synergy, synesis, synesthesia, synesthesialgia, synfuel, synfuels, syngamy
DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED
BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2020
EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR SYNESIS
Synesis, sin′e-sis, n. a grammatical construction in harmony with the sense rather than with strict syntax.

BRITISH DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS FOR SYNESIS
synesis/ (ˈsɪnɪsɪs) /
noun
a grammatical construction in which the inflection or form of a word is conditioned by the meaning rather than the syntax, as for example the plural form have with the singular noun group in the sentence the group have already assembled

Bugger bugger bugger. I can't believe I've just finished an English Language degree and I have not heard of this!!

Thanks op - due to you I have learned something new :-)

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 03/05/2020 19:46

Blimey!! There were 2 replies on this thread when I started writing my post!!

MrsSchadenfreude · 03/05/2020 19:59

A comma splice may be used deliberately in poetry or informal prose to create a feeling of speed or excitement.

Clockways · 03/05/2020 20:58

When explaining rules to someone who isn't sure, using a comma splice isn't a good example of standard punctuation.

ThisHereMamaBear · 03/05/2020 22:17

Thanks everyone, I will read the book calmly now. Can I ask two more questions? In the Biff, Chip and Kipper books, the mum has a cup which has 'I ❤️ L' the rest is obstructed. What do you think the rest of the word is? I did think London but the text is too large to fit around the cup.

In The Tiger Who Came to Tea, why does the tiger never return again? He had a wonderful time, was treated kindly and wasn't forced out. Why would he never return?

OP posts:
PaperDreamsHoney · 04/05/2020 10:00

Maybe the tiger's not local? He might've been a hungry tourist.

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