章振邦《新编英语语法》Lecture_3

1、Lecture 3,Subject-Verb Concord/Agreement (II),3.1 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 Paul

2、ine and Bob 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 but

3、ter is usually eaten with smoked salmon. The secretary and treasurer is absent., Coordination with “and” or “bothand”,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

4、woman in this community finds himself or herself/themselves in need. His younger brother and the subsequent editor of his collected papers was / were with him at his death-bed. Your fairness and impartiality has / have been much appreciated.,Coordination with “or” / “eitheror”, “nor” / “neithernor”,

5、 “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 afternoon. Either my father or my brothers are coming. Neither the Kansas players nor

6、 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 subordinate structure such as as much as, rather than, more than, no less than, t

7、he 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, is anxious to go there again. Man, no less than the lower forms of life, is

8、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 subject itself. The manager with some workers was working during the holidays

9、. 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 except two girls was late for dinner.,3.2 Problems of concord with expressions

10、 of quantity as subject, Concord with expression of definite quantity as subject a) 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 constitute the quantity, the verb takes the plural form. Compare:,The treasur

11、er 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 were six silver dollars in each of the stockings.,b) If the subject is

12、 “a fraction / percentage + of-phrase,” the form of the verb is determined by the noun in the of-phrase:,Two-thirds of the swampland has been reclaimed for farming. Over sixty percent of the city was destroyed in the war. Thirty-five per cent of the doctors were women.,c) If the subject is an expres

13、sion 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 fifteen leaves twenty-five. Forty divided by eight is five. Seven plus /

14、 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 in ten students has failed the exam. One out of twenty was badl

15、y damaged., Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject,a) 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:,Some of the money has been stolen / recovered. Some of the boo

16、ks 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 of, loads of, scads of, plenty of + noun,” the number

17、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 Cuba. Plenty of the men are already here.,c) When

18、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 pile of logs was set beside the hearth.,d) Wh

19、en 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. This sort of paint is very useful. That

20、 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 are many different kinds of snake

21、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” or “more than one + noun,” t

22、his 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 phrase: if the noun head is the

23、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 the city. A majority of th

24、ree votes to one was recorded.,3.3 Other problems of subject-verb concord,Problems 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 more such clauses are

25、 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 how he managed to g

26、et 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 was real to him w

27、ere the details of his life. What are often regarded as poisonous fungi are in fact edible.,P37 1-9,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 asks. To climb moun

28、tains 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 when the subject

29、 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 principle of gram

30、matical 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,” the verb can

31、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 only be sing

32、ular:,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,In cleft sentences, subject-verb concord in

33、 that- / who-clause is generally determined by the number of the focal element functioning as subject in the clause. When the focal element is “I,” the verb TO BE in the following who- / that-clause usually agrees with “I” in both person and number; if, on the other hand, the focal element is “me” i

34、nstead of “I,” the verb TO BE in the following who- / that-clause should take the third person singular number.,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 cons