“主谓一致”用法归纳
2021-11-19朱成艳
朱成艳
主谓一致,即谓语动词的单复数形式与主语在人称与数上保持一致,是高中英语中的一个重要语法知识点。对此,笔者就主谓一致的用法進行了归纳,以期同学们能够准确掌握和运用。
一、谓语动词用单数形式
1.当 each, the other, another, something, nothing, anything, everyone, anybody等复合不定代词用作主语时,谓语动词应用单数形式。如:Everything is ready except one key element.(万事俱备,只欠东风。)
2.当“many a/an+名词”或“more than one +名词”用作主语时,从意义来说是复数形式,但谓语动词不能用复数形式,而是用单数形式。如:①Many a moth- er tries to act out her unrealized dreams through herdaughter.(许多母亲都试图在女儿身上实现自己未竟的梦想。)②More than one graduate wants to work indeveloped coastal areas.(不止一个毕业生想去沿海发达地区工作。)
3.当表示价格、时间、距离等名词用作主语时,即使形式上是复数,谓语仍用单数形式。如:①Ten thousand dollars is nothing to somebody as rich as he is.(一万美元对于像他这么富有的人来说算不上什么。)②Fifty kilometers is a long way .(五十公里是一段很长的路程。)
二、谓语动词用复数形式
1.当 people, cattle, police, militia, poultry等集体名词用作主语时,形式上虽是单数,但意义上是复数,故谓语动词应用复数形式。如:① People are of- ten afraid of things they don’tunderstand.(人往往对自己不懂的东西感到恐惧。)② Poultry are raised on farms for their eggs or meat.(农场饲养家禽以获取蛋或肉。)
2.当 old, young, rich, poor, living等形容词前加上 the表示某一类人时,谓语动词应用复数形式。如:① The old are more likely to catch cold than the young.(老年人比年轻人更容易感冒。)②The poor are forced to leave their home.(穷人被迫离开自己的家园。)
3.当名词性从句用作主语时,谓语动词一般用单数。但如果是两个或两个以上的从句由 and 连接表示两个概念时,谓语动词则用复数形式。如:When the person was murdered and why he was murdered are still unknown.(这个人是什么时候被谋杀的,为什么被谋杀,目前还不得而知。)
三、谓语动词单复数形式视情况而定
1.当 family, public, group, army, class, company, public, audience, government, population等集体名词用作主语时,其后的谓语动词要根据主语的实际情况而定。如果集体名词表示整体概念时,则谓语动词用单数形式;如果集体名词表示成员或个体时,则谓语动词用复数形式。如:①The family is often taken as the basic unit of our society.(家庭通常被认为是社会的基本单位。)(强调整体)②My family are completely be- hind me, whatever I decide.(无论做出什么决定,我的家人都全力支持我。)(强调成员)
2.当“half of, most of, all of以及百分数或分数+of 等后接名词”用作主语时,谓语动词的单复数形式主要取决于 of 后的名词。如:Forty percent of happiness is within our control, according to positive psychologists.(根据积极的心理学家的观点,40%的幸福感都在我们自己的掌控之中。)
3.在定语从句中,当 who, which, that等关系代词用作主语时,其谓语动词的单复数形式由先行词而定。若先行词为复数,则谓语动词用复数形式;若为单数名词或不可数名词,则用单数形式。如:The teach- er who teaches us English is fromAustralia.(教我们英语的老师来自澳大利亚。)但需要注意的是,在“one of +复数名词+定语从句”中,谓语动词用复数形式;而在“the (only)one of +复数名词+定语从语”中,谓语动词用单数形式。如:①He is one of the persons in our office who have a good knowledge of Italian.(他是我们办公室精通意大利语的人之一。)②He is the only one of the persons in our office who has a good knowledge of Italian.(他是我们办公室里唯一精通意大利语的人)。
总之,主谓一致的用法多样,同学们在平时学习中要用心归纳,透彻理解和掌握,运用时做到具体问题具体分析,从而确保运用恰当。
(作者单位:江苏省滨海县东元高级中学)