Dear Geist,

Which is correct, (a), (b), or both? (a) All of them are overdressed for the hike; (b) None of them is properly dressed for the hike. A co-worker and I like to stump each other with obscure questions on language and punctuation, and the one with more search-engine results is the winner. But for this one we're not getting a critical mass of authoritative answers online. So, over to you. Does (a) or (b) get the Geist seal of approval?

—Fouzia and Linda on our coffee break

Dear Fouzia and Linda,

We're flattered that you placed this important question in our hands, though if you're regular Lit-Lorn followers, you know how annoyingly often we hedge, saying “Well, it depends.” Yup, we're doing it again—both (a) and (b) are correct, depending.

The subject “all of them” in (a) connotes a gathering of people embarking on a hike together, acting as a group; hence are is the appropriate verb. The scene in (b) feels more scattered, suggesting miscellaneous would-be hikers wearing various inappropriate garments—in short, more like a number of individuals than a cohesive group, so “none of them,” accompanied by the singular verb is, makes sense.

We're guessing, of course—a one- or two-line passage tells a very limited story—but both snippets are surprisingly rich in material when you're working out whether a group is acting as one or as many.

We hope this helps, or at least offers more reasons to love the strength and agility of language!

—The Editors