Some one must be poor, and in want of his gold--or his corn.
a.s.sume that no one is in want of _either_.--RUSKIN
Their [Ernest"s and the poet"s] minds accorded into one strain, and made delightful music which _neither_ could have claimed as all his own.--HAWTHORNE.
[Sidenote: _Use of_ any.]
Sometimes these are made to refer to several objects, in which case any should be used instead; as,--
Was it the winter"s storm? was it hard labor and spare meals? was it disease? was it the tomahawk? Is it possible that _neither_ of these causes, that not all combined, were able to blast this bud of hope?--EVERETT.
Once I took such delight in Montaigne ...; before that, in Shakespeare; then in Plutarch; then in Plotinus; at one time in Bacon; afterwards in Goethe; even in Bettine; but now I turn the pages of _either_ of them languidly, whilst I still cherish their genius.--EMERSON.
[Sidenote: Any _usually plural_.]
423. The adjective p.r.o.noun any is nearly always regarded as plural, as shown in the following sentences:--
If _any_ of you _have_ been accustomed to look upon these hours as mere visionary hours, I beseech you, etc.--BEECHER
Whenever, during his stay at Yuste, _any_ of his friends had died, he had been punctual in doing honor to _their_ memory.--STIRLING.
But I enjoy the company and conversation of its inhabitants, when _any_ of them _are_ so good as to visit me.--FRANKLIN.
Do you think, when I spoke anon of the ghosts of Pryor"s children, I mean that _any_ of them _are_ dead?--THACKERAY.
In earlier Modern English, _any_ was often singular; as,--
If _any_, speak; for _him_ have I offended.--SHAKESPEARE.
If _any_ of you lack wisdom, let _him_ ask of G.o.d.--_Bible_.
Very rarely the singular is met with in later times; as,--
Here is a poet doubtless as much affected by his own descriptions as _any_ that _reads_ them can be.--BURKE.
[Sidenote: _Caution_.]
The above instances are to be distinguished from the adjective _any_, which is plural as often as singular.
[Sidenote: None _usually plural_.]
424. The adjective p.r.o.noun none is, in the prose of the present day, usually plural, although it is historically a contraction of _ne an_ (not one). Examples of its use are,--
In earnest, if ever man was; as _none_ of the French philosophers _were_.--CARLYLE.
_None_ of Nature"s powers _do_ better service.--PROF. DANA
One man answers some question which _none_ of his contemporaries _put_, and is isolated.--EMERSON.
_None obey_ the command of duty so well as those who are free from the observance of slavish bondage.--SCOTT.
Do you think, when I spoke anon of the ghosts of Pryor"s children, I mean that any of them are dead? _None are_, that I know of.--THACKERAY.
Early apples begin to be ripe about the first of August; but I think _none_ of them _are_ so good to eat as some to smell.--Th.o.r.eAU.
The singular use of _none_ is often found in the Bible; as,--
_None_ of them _was_ cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.--LUKE iv 27
Also the singular is sometimes found in present-day English in prose, and less rarely in poetry; for example,--
Perhaps _none_ of our Presidents since Washington _has_ stood so firm in the confidence of the people.--LOWELL
In signal _none his_ steed should spare.--SCOTT
Like the use of _any_, the p.r.o.noun _none_ should be distinguished from the adjective _none_, which is used absolutely, and hence is more likely to confuse the student.
Compare with the above the following sentences having the adjective _none_:--
Reflecting a summer evening sky in its bosom, though _none_ [no sky] was visible overhead.--Th.o.r.eAU
The holy fires were suffered to go out in the temples, and _none_ [no fires] were lighted in their own dwellings.--PRESCOTT
[Sidenote: All _singular and plural_.]
425. The p.r.o.noun all has the singular construction when it means _everything_; the plural, when it means _all persons_: for example,--
[Sidenote: _Singular_.]
The light troops thought ... that _all was_ lost.--PALGRAVE
_All was_ won on the one side, and _all was_ lost on the other.--BAYNE
Having done _all_ that _was_ just toward others.--NAPIER
[Sidenote: _Plural_.]
But the King"s treatment of the great lords will be judged leniently by _all_ who _remember_, etc.--PEARSON.
When _all were_ gone, fixing his eyes on the mace, etc.--LINGARD
_All_ who did not understand French _were_ compelled, etc.--McMASTER.
[Sidenote: Somebody"s else, _or_ somebody else"s?]