Lecture Two Subject-verb Agreement第二讲主谓一致.doc

Lecture Two Subject-verb AgreementTeaching hours: 2Teaching aims: 1. Students will grasp the three guiding principles of subject-verb agreement.2. Students will learn the problems of concord.Key points of teaching: the three guiding principles of subject-verb agreement; the problems of concord Time allotment:the three guiding principles.(30ms).the problems of concord.(50ms)exercises and assignment(20ms).Teaching contents:I. Three guiding principlesWe all know these meanings of agree, but when we talk about subject-verb agreement, were talking about something different: matching subjects and verbs according to number. That is, when you have a singular subject, you have to match it with a singular verb form: The boy plays. When you have a plural subject, you must have a plural verb form: The boys play.1. Grammatical agreement.A verb must agree with its subject in person and number. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. Weve all heard this lesson more times than we care to remember. Its a good lesson, to be sure, but its not quite as simple as it sounds.One of the nice things about English is that its verbs do not change much to agree with a subject in number. In fact, for almost all verbs, there is only one change, adding -s or -es for third person singular, present tense. We say He goes, She tries, and It matters. All other persons require no changes to the verb. We say I play, You play, We play, and They play. The past tense requires its own changes to the verb, but (except for the verb be) these do not involve number. Thus we say He walked and I ran, They walked and we ran, and so on.The modal auxiliaries are an exception to the agreement rule. They do not change to show number. We say I can swim, He can swim, They can swim, and so on. The primary verb be is a unique case in that it has many different formsam, are, is, was, weredepending on the person, number, and tense of a specific use.2. Notional agreement.It would be great if this was all there was to remember, but there is more than one kind of agreement. There is grammatical agreement, as discussed above, and agreement in meaning, or notional agreement. Usually grammatical agreement and notional agreement coincide. In the sentence He laughs, both are singular. In the sentence We laugh, both are plural. But in some sentences a subject can have a singular form and a plural meaning. Thus in the sentence Her family are all avid skiers, the noun family is singular in form but plural in meaning, and the verb is plural to agree with the meaning. In other words, there is notional agreement, but not grammatical agreement, between the subject and the verb. In the sentence Everyone has gone to the movies, the situation is reversed. The subject everyone is plural in meaning and singular in form, but the verb agrees in number with the form of its grammatical subject. There is grammatical agreement but not notional agreement.Similarly, there are some nouns like mumps and news that are plural in form but take a singular verb: The mumps was once a common childhood disease. Amounts often take a singular verb: Ten thousand bucks is a lot of money. Here again we have notional, but not grammatical, agreementthe ten thousand bucks is considered a single quantity, and it gets a singular verb.There are a number of words in English that can take a singular or plural verb depending on how they are used. Among these are collective nouns, pronouns such as any and none, and many nouns ending in -ics, such as politics. 3. Agreement by proximity.Certain grammatical constructions provide further complications. Sometimes the noun that is adjacent to the verb can exert more influence than the noun that is the grammatical subject. Selecting a verb in a sentence like A variety of styles has been/have been in vogue for the last year can be tricky. The traditional rules require has been, but the plural sense of the noun phrase presses for have been. While 59 percent of the Usage Panel insists on the singular verb in this sentence, 22 percent actually prefer the plural verb and another 19 percent say that either has or have is acceptable, meaning that 41 percent find the plural verb with a singular grammatical subject to be acceptable.II. Problems of concordSometimes syntax itself makes it impossible to follow the agreement rule. In a sentence like Either John or his brothers are bringing the dessert, the verb cant agree with both parts of the subject. Some people believe that the verb should agree with the closer of the two subjects. This is called agreement by proximity. For more on this subject, see either and or.In Modern English, a compound subject connected by and normally takes a plural verb: Rebecca and Martha play in the same band. The house and the barn are on the same property. Their innovative idea, persistence, and careful research have finally paid off. When a subject is followed by a conjoining prepositional phrase such as as well as, in addition to, or with, the verb should be singular: Jesse as well as Luke likes jazz. The old school along with the playground is up for sale.Sometimes compound subjects are governed by a sense of unity and by notional agreement take a singular verb: My name and address is printed on the box. His colleague and friend (one person) deserves equal credit. This sense of unity is not simply a stylistic flourish. Using a singular or plural verb changes the meaning of the sentence. Eating garlic and drinking red wine sometimes gives me a headache means that the combination of garlic and red wine can cause a headache. With a plural verb (give), the sentence implies that garlic and red wine act separately; either can bring a headache.1. 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 governed by usage.1.1 Collective nouns used as pluralThey include people, police, cattle, poultry, vermin etc.e.g. The police are searching for the murderer.Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and hides. Poultry are less expensive in rural areas1.2 Collective nouns used as SingularThey include foliage, machinery, furniture, jewelry, merchandise, etc.e.g. All the machinery in that country is made in China. Jewelry is no longer a mark of wealth1.3 Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular They include army, audience, family, team, committee, class, etc. The choice of the verb form depends on the exact meaning of the noun in a specific context. when the noun is used as a whole, the verb takes the singular form. If the noun is used as the individuals that make the collective, the verb takes the plural form.e.g. The audience is requested to remain seated during the intermission.The audience are listening to a Beethoven symphony.The class are busy taking notes.The class is a modal one.2. Problems of concord with nouns ending in -sThe regular plural is formed by adding s or es to the base. Quite a few nouns ending in s are uncountable. Some are treated as singular, some as plural, and some either as singular or as plural. 2.1 Disease and game names ending in s They are mostly treated as singular.e.g.Mumps is a kind of infectious disease.Generally, measles occurs in children.2.2 Subject names ending in ics They are generally singular nouns, but some are treated as plural when used in other senses.e.g.Mathematics is the study of numbers.His mathematics are not good.2.3 Geographical names ending in s They are usually used as plural except a few country names.e.g.The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life.The West Indies are commonly divided into two parts.2.4 other nouns ending in sNames for things made of two parts such as scissors, glasses, trousers, shorts, etc. are used as plural. His trousers are torn. Nouns usually taking plural endings such as arms, clothes, contents, goods, etc. are used as plurals. High wages often result in high prices.3. Problems of concord with a coordinate subject3.1 Coordination with “and” or “both and” It is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more persons/things, but as singular when it refers to only one person or thing.e.g.Peter and Bob are deadly rivals.Both John and his son have gone fishing.3.2 coordination with “or”/ “either or”, “nor”/ “neither nor”, “not only but also” It is generally dealt with according to the principle of proximity.e.g.Neither you nor your husband is responsible for the mistake. Not only the students but also their teacher has participated in the game. 3.3 subject + as well as, in addition to, together with, etc.Subjects linked by as well as, etc, normally comply with the principle of the grammatical concord.e.g. The President, as well as his advisors, was aware of the risk of the mission.The head coach, together with his team, was overjoyed when they won the NBA final.4. Expressions of quantity as subject4.1 Definite quantity as subjecta. When it is regarded a single unit, the verb takes a singular form.e.g.Six months is too short a time.A hundred dollars a large sum of money to a university student. b. When it is used in the sense of the individuals, the verb takes the plural form.e.g.The first two years were quite successful.There are six dollars in his pocket.c. “a fraction/percentage + of-phrase” as subjectThe verb form is determined by the noun in the of-phrase.e.g.Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the war.Two-thirds of the students are willing to take the test.d. “one in/out of + plural noun” as subject The verb takes the singular form in informal style, but plural in informal style.e.g. One in ten students has / have failed the exam. 4.2 Indefinite quantity as subjecta. “all of, some of, none of, half of + noun” as subject The verb is determined by the noun in of-phrase.e.g.Some of the money has been stolen.Half of the students are girls.b. “a portion of, a series of, a pile of, or this kind/sort/type of, + noun” as subjectThe verb invariably takes the singular form. e.g.A substantial portion of the report is missing.A series of accidents has been reported.c. “many a/more than one + noun” as subjectThis kind of noun phrase, though notionally plural, is treated as singular.e.g.Many a man has done his duty.More than one student has failed the exam. 5.Other problems 5.1 Nominal clauses as subject Generally, a one-clause subject takes the singular verb, and a two-clause subject, the plural verb.e.g.What caused the accident was a complete mystery.What he did and what he said are totally different.*What she wanted from him were just promises.5.2 Non-finite clauses as subject The verb usually takes the singular form.e.g. Playing tennis is a very good exercise. To eat well is all he asks.*Singing and dancing are her favorite hobbies. To eat to live and to live to eat constitute two different attitudes towards life.5.3 Concord in existential sentenceThe verb agrees with the notional subject.e.g.There is a note left on the desk.There are three routes you can take.*There is a sofa and two chairs in the room. (principle of proximity) 5.4 concord in relative clausesa. In the construction of “one of + plural noun + relative clause”, the principle of proximity is generally preferred (especially in BE). e.g. She is one of the girls who have trouble making up their minds. b. When one is premodified by the or the only/very , the verb can only be singular.e.g.She is the only one of her family who has trouble making up her mind.1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb.She and her friends are at the fair.2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.The book or the pen is in the drawer.3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb.The boy or his friends run every day.His friends or the boy runs every day.4. Doesnt is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject. Dont is a contraction of do not and should be used only with a plural subject. The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you. With these pronouns, the contraction dont should be used.He doesnt like it.They dont like it.5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.One of the boxes is open.The people who listen to that music are few.The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.6. The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.Each of these hot dogs is juicy.Everybody knows Mr. Jones.Either is correct.7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.The news is on at six.Note: the word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.Five dollars is a lot of money.Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are two parts to these things.)These scissors are dull.Those trousers are made of wool.9. In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb. Since there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.There are many questions.There is a question.10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family.The team runs during practice.The committee decides how to proceed.The family has a long history.My family has never been able to agree.11. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too.The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India.All of the books, including yours, are in that box.12. Some indefinite pronouns such as all, some are singular or plural depending on what theyre referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.Some of the beads are missing. Some of the water is gone. On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either singular or plural; it often doesnt matter whether you use a singular or a plural verb unless something else in the sentence determines its number.13. Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a majority of are sometimes singular and sometimes plural, depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when all, any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed as