■不定式短语、动词-ing形式或名词性从句作主语,谓语动词用单数形式。如:
Remember /To remember English words is not easy. 记英语单词不容易。
Who will do the job hasn’t been decided yet. 谁来做这项工作还没决定。
注:what引导主语从句时,如果其表语是复数形式,谓语动词要用复数形式。如:
What he took with him were two books. 他带去的是两本书。
■“名词或代词+由with, together with, along with, as well as, besides, but ,except, including, in addition to, like, no less than, rather than等引起的短语”作主语时,谓语动词与前面的名词或代词的数一致。如:
Mr Li together with his two sons has gone to the cinema. 李先生和他的两个儿子看电影去了。
No one except the two boys was late for class. 除了两个男孩外,没有一个人迟到。
Li Ming, rather than his classmates, has let out the secret. 是李明透露了那个消息而不是他的同学透露的。
■“more than one/many a + 单数名词”作主语时,谓语动词用单数形式。如:
More than one person has known it. 不止一个人知道这件事。
Many a worker was killed in the accident. 在这个事故中死了许多工人。
注:“More+复数名词 than one”作主语,谓语则用复数形式。如:
More persons than one have known it. 不止一个人知道这件事。
■“一两个……”,用“one or two+名词复数”表达时,谓语用复数;用“a(an) +名词单数or two”表达时,谓语动词用单数形式。如:
One or two days are enough for them.
=A day or two is enough for them. 给他们一两天时间足够了。
■and连接两个名词一起作主语时,谓语动词一般用复数形式。如:
Lily and Kite are kind to me. 莉莉和凯特都对我很好。
但是,当两个名词表示同一人、同一事物、同一概念或一个完整的东西时(其特征是and后的名词前无任何冠词) ,谓语动词用单数形式。如:
The teacher and writer has come. 那个教师兼作家已经来了。
(The teacher and the writer have come. 那个教师和那个作家都到来了。)
Bread and butter is a daily food in the West. 奶油面包是西方的日常食物。
A knife and fork is on the table. 有一副刀叉在桌上。
注:当and连接的并列单数主语前分别有no,each, every, many a, more than one 等修饰时,谓语动词用单数形式。如:
Many a teacher and many a student has seen the film. 许多教师和学生都看过这部电影。