一致关系就是在英语句子中各个成分之间必须在人称、性、数等方面保持一定的语法关系。一致关系必须遵循三个
原则,即语法一致原则、意义一致原则和就近一致原则。
三原则
(1). 语法一致
主语为单数形式,谓语动词用单数形式;主语为复数形式,谓语动词也用复数形式。如:
The number of mistakes was surprising.
错误的数量很惊人。
(2). 意义一致
①. 主语形式虽为单数,但意义为复数,谓语动词要用复数形式。如:My family are having supper now.
我们一家人现在正吃晚饭。
②. 主语形式为复数而意义上却是单数,谓语动词要用单数形式。如:Thirty dollars is too expensive for this dictionary.
这本词典30美元太贵了。
(3). 就近一致
谓语动词的单、复数形式取决于最靠近它的词语。如:Not only the teacher but also his students like playing football.
不仅老师喜欢踢足球,而且学生也喜欢踢足球。
主语和谓语
单复数同形的名词作主语时,如果表示单数意义,谓语动词用单数形式;如果表示复数意义,谓语动词用复数形式:This glass works was set up in 1980.
这家玻璃厂建于1990年。
(2). 只有复数形式的名词作主语时谓语动词的形式。
只有复数形式的名词作主语时,谓语动词用复数形式。如:Where are my spectacles?I can’t find them.
我的眼镜呢?我找不着。
(3). 以-s结尾的不可数名词作主语时谓语动词的形式以-s结尾的不可数名词作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式。如:What’s the news?
有什么新闻?
(4). 以-s结尾的专有名词作主语时谓语动词的形式
① 以-s结尾的表示国家、组织等名称的专有名词作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式,如:the Netherlands荷兰the United States美国the United Nations联合国The Canterbury Tales《
坎特伯雷故事集》
② 以-s结尾的表示山脉、群岛等复数意义的专有名词作主语时,谓语动词用复数形式。如:the Alps阿尔卑斯山the Philippine lslands菲律宾群岛the Appalachians阿巴拉契亚山脉the Himalayas喜马拉雅山脉The Alps are the greatest mountain range in Europe. They cover an area of about 200,000 sq.km..阿尔卑斯山脉是欧洲最大的山脉,其面积为20万平方公里。
(5). 集体名词作主语时谓语动词的形式
①
集体名词作主语时,如果表示整体概念,谓语动词用单数形式,如果就其中一个个成员而言,谓语动词用复数形式。如:Nowadays almost every family in the villiage owns a televison.
如今村上几乎每家都有电视机。
army, association,audience,band,board(董事会),cast(全体演员),choir(唱诗班),chorus, clan (部落;党派),class,city,club, college,commission, committee, company, corporation, council, couple,crew,crowd, department, enemy, faculty, family, federation, firm, gang, generation, government, group,institution,jury(陪审团), majority, mainkind, military, minority, nation, navy, opposition, orchestra, pair, party, personel, population, public, school, staff, team, tribe, union, univerty.
② 有些集体名词如:cattle, folk, militia, people, police, police, youth等,只当复数看待,谓语动词必须用复数。如:There are many people in the meeting room.
会议室有很多人。
③ 具有单数意义的集体名词作主语时,谓语动词为单数形式。如:
There is a lot of furniture in his living-room.他的客厅里有很多家具。
(6). 主语为外来的复数名词时谓语动词的形式某些外来的复数名词已没有复数意义,故谓语动词常用单数。如:This data is very interesting.这项数据很有意思。(也可用复数动词are)
(7). 表示时间、距离、金钱等的复数名词作主语时谓语动词的形式当名词词组中心词为表示度量、距离、金额、时间等复数名词时,往往可以根据意义一致的原则,把这些复数名词看作一个整体,谓语动词用单数形式。如:Three years has passed.三年已经过去了。
① 不定代词each, every, no等修饰的名词即使以and或逗号连接成多个并列主语,谓语动词仍用单数形式。如:Every man has his fault.每个人都有缺点。No man is born wise.人非生而知之。
② 如果主语由more than one…或many a …构成,尽管从意义上看是复数,但它的谓语动词仍用单数形式。如:More than one student has seen the film.不止一个学生看过那部电影。
③ both, (a) few, many, several等限定词修饰主语时,要用复数形式。如:Both (of) these films are boring.
这两部电影都没意思。Few (of) the guests are familiar to us.
客人中没有几个是我们熟悉的。
④ such, the same 起指示代词作用时,应根据其所指的内容来决定单、复数。如:Such is our plan.
我们的计划就是这样。
⑤ all, most, none, some等代词作主语时,要遵循意义一致的原则,即其谓语动词的单、复数形式要根据它们所代替的词的含义来确定。如: All of my classmates work hard 我们班所有同学学习都很用功。All of the water is gone.所有的水都用光了。
⑥ 由代词each, every one, no one, either, neither,another,the other作主语,以及由合成代词some(any,no,every)+thing(body, one)雪作主语时,均跟单数谓语动词。如:Each of the twenty guests was given a present.给20位客人每人赠送一份礼品。
⑦ 关系代词who, that, which等在定语从句中作主语时,其谓语动词的数应与句中的先行词的数一致。如:
Those who want to go please sign your name here.想去的人请把名字签在这里。
(9). 表示不定数量的短语作主语时谓语动词的形式
① a (great) number of, many, a few 修饰可数名词,其短语作主语,谓语动词一般用复数;a little, much, agreat deal of, a large amount of修饰不可数名词,其短语作主语时,谓语动词用单数。 如:在美国发现了许多其他种类的植物,如豆类、马铃薯以及各种各样的果类。A number of other plants were found in America, for example, beans, potatoes, and different fruits.许多学生到农场帮助农民摘苹果去了。
② (a large) quantities修饰可数复数名词以及不可数名词,其短语作主语时,谓语动词一般用复数。large amount of修饰不可数名词,其短语作主语时,谓语动词一般用复数。如:Large quantities of water are needed for pouring purpose.冷却需要大量的水。
③ a series of的后面接复数名词,作主语时谓语用单数形式。如:There has been a whole series of accidents on this stretch of road recently.最近在这一段路上发生了一连串事故。
④ the number of+可数名词, the amount of + 不可数名词,the quantity of+可数复数名词或不可数名词构成的短语作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式。 如:As a result, the number of the people who travel by plane in china is larger than ever before.结果,在中国乘飞机旅游的人数比以前大大增加。
(10). 分数或百分数作主语时谓语动词的形式“分数或百分数 + of + 名词”构成短语或有“a lot of ,lots of,half of,plenty of ,a (large) quantity of ,the rest of,the remainder of,a heap of,heaps of + 可数或不可数名词”构成短语作主语时,谓语形式是用单数还是复数取决于它们表示的意义。试比较:Half of the students have read the bovel.一半学生读过这本小说。Half of the food is unfit to eat.一半的食物不能吃了。
(11). 数词、量词作主语时与谓语动词的形式
① 基数词单纯表示数字作主语时,其谓语通常用单数形式,但当基数词表示的不是数值而是数量时,谓语动词可用复数形式。如:Ten billion is a large
number.100亿是个大数字。
② 用作运算的数词作主语时,其谓语常用单数形式。如:Three plus(and) five is (makes, equals, gives) eight.三加五等于八。
(12). 名词化形容词作主语时谓语动词的形式
名词化的形容词作主语,“the+形容词(或过去分词)”结构充当主语时,如表示一类可数的人或事物时,用复数谓语;如表示一类不可数的事物或少数过去分词与定冠词连用时指个别,则用单数。这类词往往有:the brave, the poor, the rich, the blind, the young, the old, the sick, the dead, the deaf and dumb, the sgreeable, the oppressed, the injured, the wounded, the unemployed等。如:The rich are for the plan, but the poor are against it.富人赞成这项计划,但穷人反对这项计划。
(13).
非限定动词短语作主语时谓语动词的形式动名词短语、动词不定式作主语时,谓语动词用单数。 如:
Nodding the head means agreement, while shaking it means disagreement点头意味着同意,摇头意味着不同意。
(14).
名词性从句作主语时谓语动词的形式从句作主语时,谓语动词通常用单数;由what引导的主语从句,如果从句谓语或从句后的表语是复数形式时,则要求用复数形式的谓语。如:
Whether he will come or not is uncertain.他来不来还不一定。
(15). 用连接词连接的名词或代词作主语时谓语动词的形式
① 由连接词连接的名词或代词作主语。
用and或both…and连接并列主语,谓语动词通常用复数形式。如:Lucy and Lily are twins露茜和莉莉是孪生姐妹。Chapter three and the last chapter are written by Professor Liu.第三章和最后一章是由刘教授写的。
② 当名词或代词后跟有with, as well as, as much as, no less than, along with, like, rather than, together with, but,except, besides, including, in additionto, combined with等连接作主语时,谓语动词一般和前一名词或代词的人称和数一致。 如:John, rather than his roommates, is to blame.
约翰,而不是他的室友,应该受到责备。
(16). or,either...or,neither...nor,not only...but also等连接的并列主语的谓语动词形式
以or, either...or, neither...nor, not only...but
also等连接的并列主语的谓语动词形式,通常依据就近原则,即人称和数的形式与最靠近它的名词或代词保持一致。如:
You or he is in the wrong.
不是你错了,就是他错了。
(17). there+be句型中并列主语的谓语动词形式
在“there+be”句型中,there+be之后的名词是句子的主语。主语是单数则谓语动词为is/was,主语是复数则动词为are/were。如果句子的主语是两个以上的名词,又有单数和复数的区别,则采取就近一致原则。即邻近动词的名词是单数则动词用is/was,邻近动词的名词是复数则动词用are/were。如:
There is a laser printer and a cordless telephone on the desk.
名词和代词
代词与其所代替或修饰的名词应在人称和性别上保持一致。例如:
People all over the world were tired not just of World War Two,but of war itsself.世人不仅讨厌第二次世界大战,而且也讨厌战争本身.
The elecatrical properties of semiconductors depend very much on their purity.半导体的电能性与其纯度关系很大。
No one can do it himself.
分词逻辑主语
表示时间、条件、伴随等的分词的逻辑主语必须同所在句子的主语保持一致。例如:
Translated into English, the sentence was found to have an entirely different word order.翻译成英语,这个句子的词序完全不同了。
Hearing the bad news, she burst into tears.听到这个不幸的信息,她失声痛哭。
平行结构中成分
(1)为使句子前后保持平衡和协调,句中的并列成分应在结构上保持一致。
同一句中的并列主语在语法等方面要求对应。例如:
Her job is washing ,cleaning and taking care of the children.(均为名词)他的工作的洗衣服,打扫卫生和看孩子。
(2)在比较结构中,被比较的事物应是同等成分。
在比较从句中,用that代替前面的单数名词,而用those代替前面的复数名词。
The students in our department are fewer than those in their department.我们系的学生比他们系的少。
The climate of Beijing is not so changeable as that of the seaside town .北京的天气不像那座海滨小城 的天气那么多变。
倒装结构中主谓
在倒装句子,其他成分放在句子前部,而主语则往往置于句子后部。这时要注意辨认主语,谓语动词要同主语保持一致。例如:
After the exams is the time for rest.考完了试就可以休息了。
In the margins was written something in red ink.有人在书页的行间用红笔写了些词句。
句型中主谓
在there be 句型中,当be后的第一个并列分词带有不定冠词时,谓语动词按就近原则用单数形式。例如:
There is a sausage,an orange and a piece of cheese on the table.
There was singing ,dancing and laugher at the party.
there is(was)后有时也可接复数名词,尤其口语中,这符合人们的思维习惯, 先说出there is(was),后才想起后面的名词。例如:
There's good books and bad books.
There's thousands of people gathering on the squqre.