《主谓一致规则(补充)课件》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《主谓一致规则(补充)课件（29页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、LectureSubject-Verb Concord/Agreement (II)Problems of concord with a Coordinate Subject Coordination with “and” or “bothand” Coordination is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more than two persons/things: The fishing and the hunting in Arizona were good that year. Both Pauline and B
2、ob have gone fishing on Miramar Lake. Rain, hail and wind have caused an estimated $22,000,000 damage to crops and livestock. Coordination with “and” or “bothand” But it is treated as singular when it refers to only one person or thing: Ham and eggs is a good breakfast. Brown bread and butter is usu
3、ally eaten with smoked salmon. The secretary and treasurer is absent. Good taste and bad taste are inculcated by example. What I say and what I think are no business of yours. Every boy and every girl in this room is entitled to a copy. Many a man and woman in this community finds himself or herself
4、/themselves in need. Coordination with “or” / “eitheror”, “nor” / “neithernor”, “not onlybut also” Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to the principle of proximity. My sisters or my brother is likely to be at home. Either her father or her mother calls for her every aftern
5、oon. Either my father or my brothers are coming. Neither the Kansas players nor the coach was overconfident. Neither the coach nor the Kansas players were confident of victory. Not only the switches but also the old wiring has been changed.Subject + as much as When the subject is followed by the sub
6、ordinate structure such as as much as, rather than, more than, no less than, the number of verb is determined by the subject itself. Some of the workers as much as the manager were responsible for the loss. His brother rather than his parents is to blame. My wife, more than anyone else in the family
7、, is anxious to go there again. Man, no less than the lower forms of life, is the product of the evolutionary process.Subject + as well as When the subject is followed by the phrases such as as well as, in addition to, with, along with, together with, except, the number of verb is determined by the
8、subject itself. The manager with some workers was working during the holidays. The father, as well as his sons, is going to enroll. Bill, together with his sisters, was hurt in the accident. The truck along with all its contents was destroyed. The barn, in addition to the house, was burned. No one e
9、xcept two girls was late for dinner.3.2 Problems of concord with expressions of quantity as subject Concord with expression of definite quantity as subjecta) When a definite quantity is regarded as a single unit, the verb takes the singular form and when used in the sense of the individuals that con
10、stitute the quantity, the verb takes the plural form. Compare:The treasurer thought that sixty-five dollars was not too much to ask.Six months is too short a time, General Westmoreland warned.Three miles was too long a distance for Freedman to run.Five hours is needed to complete the outline.There w
11、ere six silver dollars in each of the stockings.b) If the subject is “a fraction / percentage + of-phrase,” the form of the verb is determined by the noun in the of-phrase:Two-thirds of the swampland（沼泽地） has been reclaimed for farming.Over sixty percent of the city was destroyed in the war.Thirty-f
12、ive per cent of the doctors were women.c) If the subject is an expression of “A plus / and B” or “A multiplied by B,” the verb can either take the singular or the plural form. If, on the other hand, the subject is one of “A minus B” or “A divided by B”, the verb can only be singular:Forty minus fift
13、een leaves twenty-five.Forty divided by eight is five.Seven plus / and five makes / make twelve.Five times eight is / are forty.d) If the subject is a noun phrase composed of “one in /out of + plural noun,” the verb takes the singular form in formal style, but in informal style it can be plural:One
14、in ten students has failed the exam.One out of twenty was badly damaged. Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subjecta) When the subject is a noun phrase composed of “all of, some of, none of, half of, most of, etc.,” the number of the verb is determined by the noun in the of-phrase:Som
15、e of the money has been stolen / recovered.Some of the books were lost.None but the best coffee is good enough.None of my friends ever come(s) to see me.Half of the building was damaged in the explosion.Half of the students are girls.b) When the subject is a noun phrase composed of “lots of, heaps o
16、f, loads of, scads of, plenty of + noun,” the number of the verb is determined by the noun in the of-phrase:Lots of food is going to waste.Lots of people are waiting outside.Loads of milk has been distributed among the children.Loads of apples have been picked.Plenty of the sugar is imported from Cu
17、ba.Plenty of the men are already here.c) When the subject is a noun preceded by “a portion of, a series of, a pile of, a panel of,” the verb invariably takes the singular form, whatever the forms of the noun.A substantial portion of the reports is missing.A series of accidents has been reported.A pi
18、le of logs was set beside the hearth.d) When the subject is a singular or uncountable noun preceded by “a kind / sort / type of” or by “this kind / sort / type of”, the verb takes the singular form:There is a kind of rose, which fills the air with fragrance when May comes.This kind of man annoys me.
19、This sort of paint is very useful.That type of car is old-fashioned.Cf. Roses of this kind are very sweet. Cars of that type are old-fashioned.d) “These kinds of,” “many / several kinds of” may be followed by either singular or uncountable or even plural nouns with the verb being in the plural.There
20、 are many different kinds of snake in the mountains.These types of car are imported from Japan.There are several sorts of cheese for sale in the shop.I have met all kinds of tourists who come from Europe.Those kinds of insects are harmful.e) If the subject is a noun phrase composed of “many a + noun
21、” or “more than one + noun,” this kind of noun phrase, though notionally plural, is treated as singular.Many a man has done his duty.More than one game was lost.f) If the subject is a plural noun preceded by “an average of / a majority of,” the verb form is determined by the notion of the noun phras
22、e: if the noun head is the word “an average / majority,” the verb should be singular; if the head is the plural noun, the verb should be plural. Compare:An average of 25 persons apply each month.An average of 25 applications a month is not unusual.A majority of the towns younger men are moving to th
23、e city.A majority of three votes to one was recorded.3.3 Other problems of subject-verb concordProblems of concord with a nominal clause as subject When the subject is a nominal clause introduced by what, who, which, how, why, whether, etc., the verb usually takes the singular form. But when two or
24、more such clauses are coordinated by and or bothand, a plural verb is required. What caused the accident is a complete mystery.What caused the accident and who was responsible for it remain a mystery to us.Who was responsible for these accidents (is, are) not yet clear.Why he entered the house and h
25、ow he managed to get out of it (remains, remain) a mystery to us all. In SVC constructions with a what-clause as subject, the verb usually takes the singular form. But when the subject complement is plural, or when the what-clause is plural in meaning, the verb of the main clause can be plural. What
26、 was real to him were the details of his life.What are often regarded as poisonous fungi（真菌）（真菌） are in fact edible.Subject-verb concord with a non-finite clause as subject When the subject is a non-finite clause, the verb of the main clause usually takes the singular form. To eat well is all he ask
27、s. To climb mountains requires courage. Playing tennis is a very good exercise. Increasing their wages has raised the crews morale. But when two or more such clauses are coordinated by and, the verb of the main clause takes the singular form when the subject refers to one thing, and the plural form
28、when the subject refers to separate things: Reading Ibsen and solving a quadratic equation are entirely different assignments. Weeping and wailing does nothing towards solving the problem.Subject-verb concord in relative clauses In the construction of “one of + plural noun + relative clause,” the pr
29、inciple of grammatical concord is generally observed: Joan is one of those people who go out of their way to be helpful. I am one of those people who by the general opinion of the world are counted both infamous and unhappy. Sometimes, especially in British English, in order to lay emphasis on “one,
30、” the verb can also take the singular form:Jasper White is one of those rare people who believes in ancient myths.My worthy friend Sir Roger is one of those who is not only at peace within himself, but beloved and esteemed by all about him.When “one” is preceded by “the” or “the only,” the verb can
31、only be singular:Selfishness is the one of her many faults which defeats itself.Keves is the only one of the players who has learned all the rules.He is the only one of those boys who is willing to take on another assignment.Subject-verb concord in cleft sentences It is I who am to blame. It is me t
32、hat is to blame. It is me that was injured in the accident.Subject-verb concord in existential sentences In existential sentences, subject-verb concord is generally determined by the number of the “notional subject”. When the notional subject is a coordinate construction, the verb form goes with the first coordinate element of the notional subject, singular or plural.There is a note left on the desk.There are three routes you can take.Theres a long springboard, and three rafts at varying distances from the shore.
