英语专业语法书答案Lecture 2 Subject-verb__ Concord.doc

Lecture 2 Subject-verb Concord (1)By subject-verb concord is meant agreement between subject and predicate verb in number.2. 1 Guiding principlesThere are three principles guiding subject-verb concord; they are principles of grammatical concord, notional concord and proximity.1) Grammatical concordThe principle of grammatical concord refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. If the subject is plural, the verb should take the plural form; if, on the other hand, the subject is singular or is a mass noun, the verb should take the singular form, eg:Both boys have their own merits.Every girl comes on time. Much effort is wasted.Difficulties arise when this principle comes into conflict with the other two principles: principle of notional concord and principle of proximity.2) Notional concordThe principle of notional concord refers to the rule that the verb can sometimes agree with the subject according to the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that notion, eg:The government have asked the country to decide by a vote. Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me.3) ProximityThe principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb with a closely preceding noun phrase in preference to agreement with the head of the noun phrase that functions as subject, eg:Either my brothers or my father is coming.No one except his own supporters agree with him. Neither Julia nor I am going.Note that grammatical concord is the basic principle, but when the subject is realized by a collective noun, a coordinate form or an expression of quantity, the other two principles will have to be considered.2.2 Problems of concord with nouns ending in -sThere are quite a few nouns that end in -s but which are not countable. Some of these nouns are treated as singular, some as plural, and some either as singular or as plural. All this can be dealt with under the following headings.1) Disease and game names ending in -sNames of diseases ending in -s are mostly treated as singular, but there are a few such names (as measles and rickets) which can be used either as singular or as plural. Game names ending in -s are generally used as singular with the exception of cards which is usually treated as plural.2) Subject names ending in -icsNames of subjects ending in -ics are generally singular nouns, but some such nouns are treated as plural when used in other senses than subject names. Compare:Acoustics is the science of sound.The acoustics in the new concert hall are faultless. Economics is a required course for all the students. The economics of the project are still being considered.3) Geographical names ending in -sGeographical names such as the names of archipelagos, mountain ranges, straits and falls are generally used as plural, except for a few treated as singular when used as country names, eg:The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life.The Straits of Gibraltar have not lost their strategic importance.In early January 1976, the Netherlands was hit by its worst storm since 1953.4) Other nouns ending in -sNames for things made of two parts such as scissors, pincers, etc are usually used as plural. But when they are preceded by such unit nouns as a pair of and two pairs of, the number form of the following verb is generally determined by the number marker of the unit noun.Nouns usually taking plural endings such as archives, arms and clothes are generally used as plural with the exception of whereabouts, dramatics, etc which may be treated eith6r as plural or as singular.Nouns ending in -ings such as clippings, diggings, etc are generally used as plural with the exception of tidings which can be used both ways. There are also nouns such as barracks and headquarters whose singular and plural number share the same form. These nouns are treated as plural when used in the plural sense, or vice versa.2.3 Problems of concord with collective nouns as subjectCollective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. The choice between grammatical and notional concord is mostly dictated by usage.1) Collective nouns usually used as pluralThese include people, police, cattle, militia, poultry, vermin, etc:The Chinese people are a great people.Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and hides.2) Collective nouns usually used as singularThese include foliage, machinery, equipment, furniture, merchandise, etc:All the merchandise has arrived undamaged.All the machinery in the factory is made in China.3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular There are collective nouns that can be used either as plural or as singular. The choice of the verb form following such nouns depends on the exact meaning of the noun in a specific context. When the noun is used in the sense of a collective as a whole, the verb takes the singular form. If, on the other hand, the noun is used in the sense of the individuals that make the collective, the verb takes the plural form. Compare:The anti-crime committee is to make, its report tomorrow.The committee are divided in opinion about this problem. That group of soldiers is a top-notch fighting unit.That group of soldiers have the best ratings of individual performance.4) A committee of, etc + plural nounWhen a plural noun is preceded by a committee of / a board of / a panel of, the verb usually takes the singular form, eg:A committee of five