Lesson 3    Subject-verb Concord (II)

3.1 Problems of concord with a coordinate subject

Coordination by "and" or "both …and"

It is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more than two persons/things, but it is singular when referring to one person or thing.

e.g.  Baseball and swimming are usually summer sports.

Your friend and adviser has agreed to lend me his money.

After "each… and each…" or "every… and every…", the verb is also in the singular form:

e.g.  Each man and each woman is asked to help.

Every flower and every bush is to be cut down.

 The indefinite pronouns anybody/anyone, everybody/everyone, nobody/no one, and somebody/someone combine with singular verb forms, even though co-referent pronouns and determiners may be plural forms.

e.g. [Everybody]’s doing what they think they’re supposed to do.

Nobody has their fridges repaired any more, they can’t afford it.

 

each/every… he/she/they

e.g. At the moment each of the girls was too busy thinking about her own personal safety to care much about the luggage.

But “each/every+ singular n. … they/their” is right as well.

e.g. Each of the students should have his/their own books.

     Every member brings their own lunch.

In such exams as TOEFL, the pronoun referring to

“nobody/everybody/everyone/someone/somebody/anybody/anyone/no one” can only be he/his instead  of they/their. However, as English learners it must be known that “everyone…they” is used more often than “everyone…he”.

 

e.g. Everyone warned you, didn’t they?

Has anybody brought their camera?

No one could have blamed themselves for that.

Every one / each / each one /*every one of the students should have their/his own books.

 

2) Coordination by "or" / "either…or", "neither…nor", "not only...but also"

Here the problem is dealt with according to the principle of proximity.

e.g.  My sisters or my brother is likely to be at home.

       Either my father or my brothers are coming.

 Informally we can have the following use:

e.g. Neither he nor his wife have arrived.

 

In formal cases, especially in exams, “neither” is used with singular verb.

e.g. Neither of them is bright.

When used with plural nouns in informal cases, “neither” can also be used with plural verb.

e.g. Neither of the books are/is very interesting.

 

---I can’t swim.   ----Neither can I.

  --- He didn’t like the play.  ---Nor did we.

Neither is usually in formal cases, but nor is often used in spoken English.

 

3) Subject + as well as, as much as, rather than, more than, no less than; with, along with, together with, in addition to, except + Verb (determined by the form of the subject

e.g.  Some of the workers, as well as the manager, were working during the holidays.

No one except two students was late for the dinner.

3.2 Problems of concord with expressions of quantity as subject

1) Concord with expression of definite quantity as subject

 

a) When regarded as a single unit, the verb is singular; when regarded as the individuals that constitute the quantity, the verb takes plural form.

e.g.  Twenty years in prison was the penalty he had to pay.

b) a fraction/percentage + of-phrase+ (<--)verb

e.g. Thirty-five percent of the doctors were women.

c) "A + B /A×B" + Verb (singular/plural); "A－B/A÷B"+ Verb (singular) e.g. Forty minus fifteen leaves twenty-five.  40-15=25

 

d) one in/out of +  Plural noun + Verb (fml. Singular; infml. plural)

e.g. One in ten students has/have failed the exam.

2) Concord with expression of indefinite quantity as subject.

a) all of/some of/ none of /half of/most of + noun phrase of indefinite quantity + (<--)verb

e.g. Most of the money was recovered by Deputy Player.

 

Usage is fairly evenly divided between singular and plural concord with none of:

e.g. None of us has been aboard except Vinck.

None of us really believe it’s ever going to happen not to us, she said at last. [Fiction]

However, none alone shows a distinct preference for singular concord:

e.g. [None] describes him/herself as such in the party’s official literature. (NEWS)

Plural concord is the norm in conversation, while in the written registers there is an overall preference for singular concord.

 

None of + N. + V

1) 当none与不可数名词连用或指代不可数名词时，其谓语动词总是用单数。

e.g. I wanted some more coffee, but there was none left.

2) 当none与复数名词连用或指代复数名词时，传统语法规定其谓语动词必须用单数。此用法得到英语教材和各类英语实体的肯定和强调。但是，实际应用中人们往往使用“概念一致”原则，用动词的复数形式。所以，Quirk说：“用复数动词较为常见，并且，在正式用法中也为人们普遍接受。”

e.g. None of the books has/have been placed on the shelves.

None but the brave deserves the fair.

唯有勇者才配得上美女。

 

None are so deaf as those who will not hear.

不愿听从的人是最聋的人。

 

no one 单独使用时只用于指人。

e.g. No one should pride themselves on this result.

但是，no one之后接-of短语时，既可指人也可指物。

e.g. No one of you could lift it.

I reach three books on this subject, no one of which was helpful.

None 既可指人也可指物。

e.g. How many elephants did you see? None.

No one of them really understands the problems.

 

No one 与no-one在英语里是并存的，

目前尚未统一形式。No-one 为英国英语，

而no one是美国英语

b) lots of/heaps of/loads of/scads of/plenty of + noun phrase + (<--) verb

e.g. Lots of stuff is going to waste.

c) a portion of/a series of/a pile of/a panel of + noun phrase + verb (singular)

e.g. A substantial portion of reports is missing

a collection of + pl. n. + singular verb

There is a collection of pictures at the Town Hall.

 

a great deal / a great many

a great (good) deal之后要加介词of才能与名词连用，而a great (good) many可以直接与名词连用。另外，a great deal of跟不可数名词连用，而a great many则与可数名词连用。

e.g. The chest contained a great/good deal of money.

   A great deal还可作形容词或副词比较级的修饰语

e.g. That job was a great deal easier.

a lot of 既可跟不可数名词也可跟可数名词，谓语动词决定于名词的单复数。

e.g. There is a lot of beer in those bottles there.

 

lots of 与amounts of , quantities of 不同，

后两者是中心词而非修饰语。

e.g. Large amounts of money were spent on the bridge.

Quantities of food were on the table.

 

a variety of + n. 做主语时，其谓语动词决定于名词的数，也就是说，此处起作用的是概念一致原则。

e.g. A great variety of books were recently published.

  

a wide range of + pl. n. 充当主语时，其谓语动词应用单数；a bouquet of flowers也是用单数。

e.g. A wide range of washing-machines and refrigerators is displayed in our showroom.

    A bouquet of flowers was presented to the vicar’s wife.

a set of + pl. n. 做主语时，人们使用谓语动词的形式并不是很一致。

e.g. There is a set of rules that you must follow if you are going mountain-climbing.

There are set of unscrupulous scoundrels.

 

d) determiner + species nouns (kind/type/sort) of + noun phrase (singular countable noun/uncountable noun) +verb (singular)

e.g. This kind of apples is highly priced.

With countable nouns there tends to be agreement in number between the species noun and the following noun (e.g. that kind of thing v. all kinds of things). But we also find:

Singular species noun + pl. noun

e.g. I don’t know what kind of dinosaurs they all are.

  I mean, do we want these kind of people in our team?

 

Pl. species noun + singular noun

e.g. Thieves tended to target certain types of

car he said.

e) many a + noun phrase + verb (singular)

  more than one + singular noun + singular verb

   more pl. noun + than one + pl. verb

e.g. Many a man has sacrificed his life.

 More than one member has protested against the proposal.

More persons than one have been involved.

 

f) In "an average of/a majority of + noun phrase (pl.) + verb", when noun is regarded as the individuals that constitute the quantity, the verb takes plural form; otherwise, it is singular.

e.g. A majority of the town's younger men are moving to the city.

    A majority of three votes to one was recorded.

3.3 Other problems of subject-verb concord

1) Problems of concord with a nominal clause as subject

When the subject is a nominal clause introduced

 

by what, which, how, why, whether, the

verb usually takes the singular form.

But when two or more such clauses are coordinated by and or both…and, a plural verb is used.

e.g. What I saw was a car.

  What I saw and think are no business of yours.

In SVC construction with a what-clause as subject,

  

when the subject complement is plural, or when the

what-clause is plural in meaning, the verb of the

main clause can be plural.

e.g. What they want are promises.

2) Subject-verb concord with a non-finite clause as subject

Generally speaking, the verb is singular. But when two or more such clauses are coordinated by and, the verb of the main clause is singular when the subject refers to one thing, and is plural when the

 

subject refers to separate things.

e.g. To eat well is all he asks.

3) Subject-verb concord in relative clauses

one of + plural noun + relative clause (verb)

the (only) one of + plural noun + relative clause (singular verb)

4) Subject-verb concord in cleft-sentences

Here the verb is determined by the number of the focal element functioning as subject in the clause. I----am; me---third person singular number

e.g.  It is I who am to blame.

It is me that is to blame.

 

5) Subject-verb concord in existential sentences

Generally the verb is determined by the notional subject. When the notional subject is a coordinate construction, the verb form goes with the first coordinate element of the notional subject. But in informal style, esp. in spoken language, the verb is often singular.

e.g.  There is a book on the desk.

     There is many people in the street.

     There is more grace and less carelessness.

 

 American and Dutch beer are much lighter than British.

   The short term and the long term loan are handled differently.

按英语惯用法，一个单数名词受前置限定时，如果此名词表示两个或两个以上的事物，根据概念一致的原则，其谓语动词用复数；但是当此类名词受后置限制时，其谓语动词用单数。

e.g. Beer from America and Holland is much lighter than British beer.

 

majority

 

许多英美出版的语法书和惯用法都指出，majority和minority不能与不可数名词连用。T. Wood 的“Current English Usage”(p161)说： “Majority may be used only for number with countable nouns, not for amount or quantity with mass nouns: The majority of the eggs were bad is correct; The majority of the butter was bad is not. Similarly, we cannot speak of the majority of the land/time/one’s wealth. We must use most, or the greater part”.

但是，Practical English Usage (1980)有一例：

e.g. The majority of the damage is easy to repair.

建议按照T. Wood的观点来使用the majority of。

 

Majority虽然在语法上是个单数名词，

但在概念上却具有复数的意义：most, almost all, many。因此一般与复数动词连用。e.g. The majority of children like sweets.

   The majority of doctors believe smoking is harmful to health.

若后面没有-of短语时，the majority 作主语时。如果泛指多数（与少数相对），谓语单复数均可。Eg， The majority is /are doing its/their best。//in favor of the plan。//against him。

 

1．如果指整体、统一体， majority 常被看作单数。

  The majority is always able to impose its will on the minority。// is for him。

2. 如果指多数中的各个成员, majority 被看成复数。

The majority are of different minds on the matter 3．如果指多出的数目， majority 看成单数。

  Her Majority was 5 vote //His majority was a big (small )one. 

the rest (+of noun) +verb 遵循概念一致原则，而非语法一致原则。

e.g. The rest are to wait for us.

The rest needs no telling.

 the + adjective 做主语：

1）当表示一类人的整体时，e.g. the young, the old, the poor, the rich, the blind, the dead, 谓语动词用复数。

e.g. The wise look to the wiser for advice.

2）当表示具体的人，而不是某一类人的整体，谓语动词用单数形式。

e.g. The deceased is my uncle.

3）表示抽象的概念或某种笼统的东西时，谓语动词用单数形式。

e.g. The best is yet to come.

The unknown is always something to be feared.

 

Worth + of + pl. noun , 其谓语动词形式

取决于上下文和所表达的真正意思。当充当of宾语

的名词具有重要意义时，谓语动词用复数形式，当

所表达的价值具有重要意义时，则谓语动词用单数

形式。

e.g. Nearly a thousand pounds’ worth of cigarettes were stolen. （此处重要的是香烟被盗）大约价值1000英镑的香烟被盗。

   There is nearly a thousand pounds’ worth of cigarettes on that shelf. （此处重要的是香烟的价值）在那个架子上的香烟价值大约为1000英镑

 

练习题：

Choose an acceptable verb form from the two given in bracket according to the standard of formal writing:

1. Law and order (mean, means) different things to people with different political opinions.

2. Not only one, but all, of us (is, are) hoping to be there.

3. Cold cereal and milk (is, are) Dad’s favorite pick-me-up (提神食品).

4. His friend and fellow author (was, were) cool to the idea of collaborating on a cookbook.

5. The Stars and Stripes (is, are) their national emblem.

6. John, rather than his roommates, (is, are) to blame.

7. Who was responsible for these accidents (is, are) not yet clear.

8. Watering the flowers and looking after the children (is, are) all I have to do every day.

9. It’s me that (am, is) responsible for the organization.

10. There (is, are) more than one member who (has, have) protested against the proposal.

11. There (comes, come) the three noisy children from next door.

12. Three pints (is, are) not enough to get him drunk.

13. A total of 50,000 new bicycles (was, were) registered in the year.

14. Fifty-eight percent of the 4,350-mile road (is, are) paved. Thirty-four percent more (is, are) comfortably passable. But eight percent (is, are) impassable.

15. Three-fourths of the surface of the earth (is, are) sea.

16. All of the fruit (looks, look) ripe.

17. Few of my family really (understands, understand) me.

18. Lots of the stuff (is, are) going to waste.

19. A substantial portion of reports (is, are) missing.

20. Twenty-five from thirty-one (leaves, leave) six.

21. Six sevens (is, are) forty-two.

22. The majority (is, are) not always in the right.

23. Neither of the girls (is, are) over eighteen.

24. There (is, are) lots of space between the hedge and the verandah.

25. More than one student (has, have) failed the exam.

 

Keys:

1. means

2. are 

3. is 

4. was 

5. is 

6. is 

7. is 

8. are 

9. is 

10. is, has 

11. come 

12. is 

13. were 

14. i s, is, is 

15. is  

16. looks 

17. understand 

18. is 

19. is 

20. leaves 

21. are 

22. are 

23. is/are 

24. is 

25. has