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  • No interviewed man wanted to put the system in his trouser pocket, as opposed to two of four females.

or

  • No interviewed men wanted to put the system in their trouser pockets, as opposed to two of four females.

In this sentence, should it be manor men? I would say man but Word Grammar Check is happy with both. Would this make a difference in the meaning of the sentence?

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  • Seems it's hard for one man to put a 'system' into multiple trouser pockets at the same time. Also, if it's man, then the use of gender-free singular they might be in question.
    – Arm the good guys in America
    Commented Jan 9, 2019 at 9:14
  • @Let's It is definitely physically possible to put this system in multiple trouser pockets at once (think smart-phone + connected on-ear headphones). Additionally, would a singular use of trouser pocket not mean they have only one? I also don't quite understand which part you mean by "gender-free singular", would you care to explain?
    – Lehue
    Commented Jan 9, 2019 at 9:22

1 Answer 1

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The Cambridge Grammar Of The English Language deals with this issue in its section 'The negative determinatives no and none' (p388).

The CGEL compares the statements:

  • No juvenile was admitted.
  • No juveniles were admitted.

It says that these 'are semantically equivalent: the distinction between singular and plural is here neutralised'.

The CGEL goes on to list cases where the singular or the plural is 'required' or 'more natural'. So, the singular is required in 'He has no father', since you can only have one (biological) father. The singular is more natural in 'He has no job', since you usually have only one job. Conversely, the plural is more natural in She has no children, since according to the CGEL 'it is more usual to have two or more children than just one'.

In the present case there is no semantic difference and no 'requirement' for either the singular or the plural. For me the plural, No interviewed men wanted... sounds a little more natural since it is followed by the plural in their trouser pockets.

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    Sorry, Shoe, I felt the Qn needed making more felicitous; your (CGEL's) examples are far better.. You might like to adjust your answer. Sorry about the extra work. But have a +1.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 11:19
  • @Edwin Ashworth— Sorry if this sounds like nitpicking, but shouldn't there be a resumptive pronoun "it" in your comment above ... I felt the Qn needed making it more felicitous? :)
    – user405662
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 11:22
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    @405662 No. I saw the dog needed it feeding? I saw the woman needed it/her helping? I was told the fence needed it repairing? All incorrect.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 11:33
  • You might also like to include the fourth alternative, We have no peas, where the plural form (indeterminate, I'd say: probably non-count, but a whimsical 'We have three peas' is possible) is, I'd say, mandatory.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 12:17
  • I saw the woman wanted her husband wore the official attire... - This is evolving English style. It, once in the past, had been "I saw (that) the woman wanted (that) her husband wore the official....
    – Ram Pillai
    Commented Mar 17, 2021 at 13:00

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