7、trousers, glasses, clothes, shoes, 等词作主语时,谓语用复数,但如果这些名词前有a (the) pair of等量词修饰时,谓语动词用单数。如:My glasses are broken. / The pair of shoes under the bed is his.
6、一些学科名词是以 –ics 结尾,如:mathematics, politics, physics 以及news, works等,都属于形式上是复数的名词,实际意义为单数名词,它们作主语时,其谓语动词要用单数形式。如:The paper works was built in 1990. / I think physics isn’t easy to study.
5、算式中表示数目(字)的主语通常作单数看待,其谓语动词采用单数形式。如:Twelve plus eight is twenty. / Fifty-six divided by eight is seven.
4、表数量的短语“one and a half”后接复数名词作主语时,其谓语动词可用单数形式(也可用复数。如:One and a half apples is (are) left on the table.
3、若英语是书名、片名、格言、剧名、报名、国名等的复数形式,其谓语动词通常用单数形式。如: “The Arabian Nights”is an interesting story-book.
2、表示“时间、重量、长度、价值”等的名词的复数作主语时,谓语动词通常用单数形式, 这是由于作主语的名词在概念上是一个整体,如:Thirty minutes is enough for the work.
1、what, who, which, any, more, all等代词可以是单数,也可是复数,主要靠意思来决定。如:Which is your bag? / Which are your bags? / All is going well. / All have gone to Beijing.
8、在倒装句中,谓语动词的数应与其后的主语一致。如:There comes the bus./ On the wall are many pictures. / Such is the result. / Such are the facts.
(二)逻辑意义一致原则:逻辑意义一致就是谓语动词的数必须和主语的意义一致(因有时主语形式为单数,但意义为复数;有时形式为复数,但意义为单数)。
7、由“a lot of, lots of, plenty of, the rest of, the majority of + 名词”构成的短语以及由“分数或百分数+名词”构成的短语作主语,其谓语动词的数要根据短语中后面名词的数而定。如:There are a lot of people in the classroom. / The rest of the lecture is wonderful. / 50% of the students in our class are girls.
注意: a number of“许多”,作定语修饰复数名词,谓语用复数;the number of“…的数量”,主语是number,谓语用单数。
6、如果集体名词指的是整个集体,它的谓语动词用单数;如果它指集体的成员,其谓语动词就用复数形式。这些词有family, class, crowd, committee, population, audience等。如:Class Four is on the third floor. / Class Four are unable to agree upon a monitor.
注意:people, police, cattle等名词一般都用作复数。如:The police are looking for the lost child.