none

none — pronoun

1. used to say that no person or thing from a particular group is being referred to

1.pronounA1
Definition

used to say that no person or thing from a particular group is being referred to or is available — for instance, asking twenty people a question and finding that every single one answers the same way

Example

Quan searched through every drawer, but none contained his missing passport.

none as subject with plural verb

Liang offered three explanations for the delay, but none of them satisfied the manager.

none + of + [plural pronoun]

Common collocations
  • none of
  • none at all
  • none whatsoever
  • almost none
  • none but
Synonyms
  • nobody

    used only for people, not things; stronger sense of 'no person at all'

  • no one

    used only for people; interchangeable with nobody but slightly more formal in tone

  • nothing

    used only for things or abstract concepts, not for countable items in a group

Antonyms
  • all

    refers to every member of a group

  • everyone

    every person in a group

  • each

    every individual item considered separately

Grammar Patterns

none + of + [plural noun/pronoun]

none + [singular verb] (formal)

none + [plural verb] (informal)

Usage Note

In formal writing, none is often treated as singular (None is available). In everyday spoken English, a plural verb is very common and widely accepted (None are available). Both are correct.

Common Mistakes

None of the students is here.' (sounds overly formal in conversation)
None of the students are here.
plural verb is natural in everyday speech.
There is none problems left.' (using none like an adjective)
There are none left.' or 'There are no problems left.
none is a pronoun, not a determiner, so it cannot directly modify a noun.
Idioms

none the wiser

idiom

still not knowing about something after being given an explanation or information

Vivek read the instruction manual twice, but was still none the wiser about how to assemble the shelf.

Élise explained the maths problem step by step, yet her younger brother remained none the wiser.

none too

idiom

not at all; used before adjectives and adverbs to indicate the opposite of what follows

The hotel room was none too clean when the family arrived for their holiday.

Luca was none too happy when he discovered his bicycle had been stolen from the garage.

second to none

idiom

better than anything or anyone else; the very best

Of all the players on the team, Amira's shooting ability is second to none.

The bakery on Elm Street makes cakes that are second to none in the whole city.

none other than

idiom

used to emphasize that a person or thing is surprising, famous, or important

The mystery guest at the ceremony was none other than the President herself.

The painting that sold for a million dollars was none other than a long-lost Van Gogh.

have none of something

idiom

to refuse to accept, allow, or take part in something

Christopher's mother would have none of his excuses for skipping homework.

The teacher said she would have none of the students' cheating during the exam.

have/want none of something

idiom

To completely refuse to accept or participate in something.

Mia offered to help, but Tom was having none of it.

The manager wanted none of the risky plan and rejected it.

none but

idiom

Used to mean 'only' or 'no one except'.

None but the bravest soldiers entered the dark forest.

None but Sara knew the secret password to the club.

none the less

idiom

Despite what has just been said; nevertheless.

The weather was terrible, but none the less we went hiking.

He failed the test; none the less, he kept studying hard.

none — adjective

none — adverb

none — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: pronoun/1

None, nobody, no one, and nothing all express absence, but each applies to a different range. None works for both people and things when referring back to a specific group: 'None of the tickets were sold' and 'None of the guests arrived' are both correct. Nobody and no one are restricted to people and are interchangeable in most contexts, though no one feels slightly more formal. Nothing covers abstract concepts and uncountable things but not countable group members: 'Nothing happened' is fine, but 'Nothing of the answers was correct' sounds odd. In everyday speech, learners often overuse nobody when none would be more precise for countable items outside of people.

none ↗nobody ↗no onenothing ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • almost none
  • nearly none
  • virtually none

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

None traces back to Old English nān, a contraction of ne (meaning 'not') and ān (meaning 'one'). The word has kept the same basic meaning of 'not one' for over a thousand years. The religious noun sense entered English through Latin nona (the ninth hour), which was the name of a prayer time in the early Christian church.