"Ingen av oss er uskyldige."
Translation:None of us is innocent.
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"None" is always grammatically singular in English textbooks, but actual usage is variable, with many people feeling that it represents a group and therefore needs a plural agreement. In formal writing, I insist on students making agreement with the singular; in other contexts, either is fine.
True, but then why is "Uskyldig" plural? If "none of us" is the subject, and the subject is singular, then shouldn't the adjective agree with that as well?
- 1456
Because it's different in Norwegian!
In English it's singular, in Norwegian it's plural, hence uskyldige. Sometimes the translation doesn't match exactly due to differences in the way the languages are constructed.
- 1554
Ingen might be considered as singular or plural. If the sentence were "None of the houses is green", would it be Intet av husene er grønne, or Ingen av husene er grønne, or Intet av husene er grønt?
It makes perfect sense if you do the maths: 1 of us is innocent; 2 of us are innocent; none of us (less than one) therefore IS innocent. Also no one (of us) is innocent. (however I admit to habitually using "are innocent" if I don't think about what I am saying!
I believe you are not guilty of saying so. Just responsible of what you think. Are we helping amongst us to live a peaceful and better life or are we proyecting our belief in evil towards the others, contributing to war? What you think about your brother is what you think about yourself. If one loves oneself can love others.
