Lecture 3 Subject-verb Concord 2 英语语法教学课件.pptVIP

Lecture 3 Subject-verb Concord （II） Problems of concord with a coordinate subject Coordination by “and” or “both ... and” is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more than two persons / things, but it is treated as singular when it refers to only one person or thing. Compare: Problems of concord with a coordinate subject Coordination with “or”/ “either ... or”, “nor” / “neither ...nor”, “not only ... but also” Problems of concord with a coordinate subject Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to the number of the subject itself. Problems of concord with expressions of quantity subject Concord with expressions of difinite quantity as subject Problems of concord with expressions of quantity subject Concord with expressions of indifinite quantity as subject Other problems of subject-verb concord Problems of concord with a nominal clause as subject Other problems of subject-verb concord Subject-verb concord with a non-finite clause as subject Other problems of subject-verb concord Subject-verb concord in relative clause Other problems of subject-verb concord Sbject-verb concord in cleft-sentence Other problems of subject-verb concord Subject-verb concord in existential sentences * * Coordination with “and” or “both ... and” 1. Rain, hail and wind have caused an estimated $22.000.000 damage to crops and livestock. 2. The secretary and treasurer was absent from the meeting. Ham and eggs is a good breakfast. Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to the principle of proximity. But in informal style, items coordinated by “neither ... nor” or “not only ... but also” can sometimes be regarded as plural, eg: 1. My sisters or my brother is likely to be at home. 2. Neither the players nor the coach was / were overconfident. 3. Not only the switches but also the old wiring has / have been change Subject +subordinators: “as much as”, “rather than”, “more than” ,“no less than”, or subject +phrases: ”as well as”,