Lecture 3 Subject-verb Concord 2 英语语法幻灯片课件.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: 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. Problems of concord with a coordinate subject Coordination with “or”/ “either ... or”, “nor” / “neither ...nor”, “not only ... but also” 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 Problems of concord with a coordinate subject Here the problem of concord is generally dealt with according to the number of the subject itself. Subject +subordinators: “as much as”, “rather than”, “more than” ,“no less than”, or subject +phrases: ”as well as”, “in addidtion to”,” with”, “along with”, “except”ect. His brother rather than his parents is to blame. The father, as well as his son, is going to enroll. No one except two girls was late for dinner. My wife, more than anyone else in the family, is anxious to go there again. Problems of concord with expressions of quantity subject Concord with expressions of difinite quantity as subject 1. As a single unit, the verb takes the singular form; in the sense of individuals, the verb takes the plural form. 2. A fraction / percentage + of + (singular / plural) noun + singular / plural verb 3. (A + B) / (A×B ) + singular / plural verb (A - B) / (A ÷B ) +