你知道cattle的用法吗?请看这样一道题:
In fact, _______ one cause that leads to the problem.
A. cattle is B. cattle are
C. cattles are D. the cattles are
【陷阱】此题容易误选A,想当然地认为cattle是单数,并且空格有表单数的one,自然谓语动词用is。
【陷阱】其实,正确答案为B cattle(牲畜,牛)为集合名词,尽管它不带复数词尾-s,却永远表示复数意义,若用作主语,谓语要用复数。又如:
For this many cattle were killed. 为此宰了不少牲畜。
The prisoners were herded like cattle. 囚犯像牲口一样被赶到一起。
类似地,police(警察),people(人),police(警察),poultry(家禽)等也具有同样用法,即只有单数形式,但却表示复数意义;用作主语时谓语通常也用复数;不与 a(n) 连用,但可与the连用(表示总括意义和特指)。如:
The poultry have been fed. 家禽已经喂过饲料了(from www.yygrammar.com)。
In Britain police do not usually carry guns. 在英国警察通常不带枪。
It annoys me when people forget to say “thank you”. 遇到有人忘记道谢的时候,我就不痛快