[Grammar] Sự hòa hợp giữa chủ từ và động từ

[Thiên Bình]

Sự hòa hợp giữa chủ từ và động từ


(Subject-verb Agreement)


(written by Thiên Bình)


Sự hòa hợp giữa chủ từ và động từ đề cập đến việc chọn đúng động từ ở hình thái số ít hay số nhiều sau chủ từ.

John lives in France.
John’s relatives live in Australia.

Dưới đây là một số quy tắc về sự hòa hợp giữa chủ từ và động từ.

1. Một số nguyên tắc thông thường:

a) Chủ từ số ít + động từ số ít (singular subject + singular verb)

The child is crying again.
Mr. John has retired from work.

b) Chủ từ số nhiều + động từ số nhiều (plural subject + singular subject)

The children are singing in their classroom.
Those men have been working since 7 o’clock.

c) Chủ từ là danh từ KHÔNG ĐẾM ĐƯỢC + động từ số ít (Uncountable noun + singular verb)

Economics is a difficult subject to study.
A lot of rice is grown in the Southeast-Asia.

* Some common uncountable nouns:

- WHOLE MADE UP SIMILAR ITEMS: baggage, clothing, equipment, food, fruit, furniture, garbage, hardware, jewelry, junk, luggage, machinery, mail, makeup, money/cash/change, scenery, traffics, etc.

- FLUIDS: water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, soup, gasoline, blood, etc.

- SOLIDS: ice, bread, butter, cheese, meat, gold, iron, silver, glass, paper, wood, cotton, wool, etc.

- GASES: steam, air, oxygen, nitrogen, smoke, smog, pollution, etc.

- PARTICLES: ice, chalk, corn, dirt, dust, flour, grass, hair, pepper, sand, sugar, wheat, etc.

- ABSTRACTIONS:

+ beauty, confidence, courage, education, enjoyment, fun, happiness, health, help, honesty, hospitality, importance, intelligence, justice, knowledge, laughter, luck, music, patience, pride, progress, significance, sleep, truth, violence, wealth, etc.

+ advice, information, news, evidence, proof, etc.

+ time, space, energy, etc.

+ homework, work, etc.

+ grammar, slang, vocabulary, etc.

- LANGUAGES: Arabic, English, Spanish, etc.

- FIELDS OF STUDY: chemistry, engineering, history, literature, mathematics, psychology,…

- RECREATION: baseball, soccer, tennis, chess, bridge, poker, etc.

- ACTIVITIES: driving, studying, swimming, traveling (*), walking, etc. (and other gerunds)

- NATURAL PHENOMENA: weather, dew, fog, hail, feat, humidity, rain, sleet, snow, thunder, wind, darkness, light, sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity, etc.

(*) British spelling: travelling


2. Một số nguyên tắc đặc biệt:

a)


http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp17/sakewinter/table1.jpg


Every student has to prepare the lesson before class.
In soccer game, each team has eleven players.
Each of the workers is wearing a name badge.
Most of those books are beautifully illustrated.
Most sugar is made from sugar cane.
None of the information in hos report is accurate.
None of their children are/is living with them.
Neither of them knows/know the truth about her.
If any of the children gets/get hungry, they can have a cake.
A number of applicants were interviewed last week.
All of the teachers have to wear uniform on Mondays.
All the furniture was destroyed in the fire.
Some of the sugar I bought is left on the fridge.
A great deal of time was spent on this research.
A large number of motorcycles have been registered this year.

[Thiên Bình]

b)



http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp17/sakewinter/table2.jpg


(*) Khi các chủ thể được kết nối bằng and tạo nên một chủ từ hợp nhất, dùng động từ số ít:

Fish and chips is a favorite kind of fast food. (Fish and chips is one dish.)
Coffee and milk is his favorite drink. (Coffee and milk is one drink.)

Tom, together with his wife and children, lives in New York.
He, as well as other workers, is going on strike.
The aim of their plans is to improve the living condition.
Both Kim and Chi are construction engineers.
Either you or I am going to do the washing up.
Not only my brother but also my parents are here.

c)



http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/pp17/sakewinter/table3.jpg


A little hard work is good for your health.
There’s little work in the house, so she spends all her time watching TV.
A few shops were still open, and we could get sth to eat.
Few shops sell this thing now, so it’ll be difficlut for you to get it.

* Chúng ta cũng dùng very little/few hoặc only a little/few:

Very little people came to the meeting, so it had to be postponed.
There’s only a little oil left, so we can’t fry the fish.

3. Một số quy tắc khác.

a) Khi chủ từ là một cụm danh từ, động từ phải hòa hợp với danh từ chính trong cụm từ đó.

Most of the students in my class are very intelligent.
Her parents’ car is very expensive.

b) Một số danh từ tập hợp hoặc tên các tổ chức cụ thể có hình thái số ít có thể được xem là danh từ số ít (+ động từ số ít) hoặc danh từ số nhiều (+ động từ số nhiều):

army, association (hội, liên đoàn), audience, band, class, club, committee, community, company, council, crew, crowd, department (phân khoa), enemy, family, government, group, jury (bồi thẩm đoàn), orchestra, population, press, public, staff, team, The United Nations,…

- Dùng động từ số ít nếu xem tập thể đó là một đơn vị.

My family has 3 members.
Our group is the only one in the contest that has the most beautiful pictures.

- Dùng động từ số nhiều nếu đề cập đến các thành viên trong nhóm.

My family were watching TV at this time yesterday.
(All the members in my family were watching TV.)

c) Một số danh từ luôn ở hình thái số nhiều thì kết hợp với động từ số nhiều:

belongings (vật dụng cá nhân), clothes, congratulations, earnings, jeans, glasses, goods, nail clippers, outskirts, particulars (= information), premises (= building), pliers, riches, savings, scissors, stairs, shorts, surroundings, thanks, trousers, tweezers,…

* Dùng động từ số ít đối với a pair of scissors, a pair of shorts, a pair of trousers, a pair of glasses,…

These blue trousers are too short for me.
I think this pair of trousers fits you.

d) Một số danh từ số nhiều không tận cùng bằng s luôn kết hợp với động từ số nhiều:

police, cattle, folk, clergy, people,…

e) Một số danh từ tận cùng bằng s (như danh từ số nhiều) nhưng kết hợp với động từ số ít:

- Một số môn học: Economics, Linguistics (Ngôn Ngữ Học), Mathematics, Phonetics, Politics, Physics, Statistics (Thống Kê Học),…

- Một số môn thể thao: athletics, gymnastics,…

- Một số căn bệnh: measles (sởi), mumps (quai bị), diabetes (tiểu đường),…

f) Những đại từ bất định someone, anyone, nobody, everyone, something, anything,… kết hợp với động từ số ít.

g) Cụm từ bắt đầu bằng to-infinitive, V-ing hoặc mệnh đề That kết hợp với động từ số ít:

To help you is my pleasure.
Doing regular morning exercises is good for you health.
That you get good mark does surprise me.
That he was won the race is hot news.

h) Những cụm từ đề cập đến thời gian, tiền, khoảng cách kết hợp với động từ số ít:

10 miles is a long way to walk.
50 dollars is too much for me.
10 years was a long time for me to wait.

i) Trong cấu trúc there + be, động từ be hòa hợp với danh từ đứng sau be, ở cuối câu.

There is a book on the table.
There are some books on the table.

j) Động từ theo sau đại từ quan hệ sẽ hòa hợp với danh từ đứng trước (được thay thế)

The woman who teaches me English is my mother.
The students who are sitting around the table are not in my class.

k) Động từ theo sau The + adjective và The + nationality được dùng ở hình thức số nhiều.

The rich have to help the poor.
The English are thought to be rather reserved.
(= The English people)

* Chúng ta có thể dùng The với một số tính từ sau: the rich, the poor, the sick, the dead, the young, the old, the homeless, the disabled, the elderly, the unemployed, the injured,…

The + nationality thường được dùng với các từ chỉ quốc tịch tận cùng là –ch, -ish, -ese: The French, the Dutch, the Irish, the Spanish, the British, the English, the Vietnamese, the Chinese, the Japanese,…

* Khi không có The ở phía trước, ta dùng động từ số ít (để chỉ ngôn ngữ):

English is so difficult to master.



- The end -



Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.

[Thiên Bình]

Exercises

A. Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) that bests completes each sentence.

1) Measles _____ a large number of children in this African region.
a. has killed
b. have killed
c. was killed
d. were killing
2) An inflation rate of 2 per cent _____ a big difference to exports.
a. make
b. makes
c. are
d. were
3) Three hours _____ a long time to take on the homework.
a. seems
b. seem
c. are
d. take
4) Some 30 per cent of milk drunk in the country _____ .
a. are importing
b. have been imported
c. were imported
d. is imported
5) The news of Lisa’s marriage _____.
a. is surprised
b. is surprising
c. are surprised
d. are surprising
6) The number of books in the library _____ to over five million.
a. have risen
b. have raised
c. has risen
d. has raised
7) _____ appears to be damaged.
a. None of the equipments
b. All of the equipments
c. None of the equipment
d. Some of the equipments
8) Their children each _____ their own car.
a. has
b. have
c. owns
d. possesses
9) _____ used to be a football field in this place, but we can’t find it now.
a. There
b. There was
c. It
d. It was
10) _____ was a great achievement.
a. That the Arsenal won both matches
b. The Arsenal won both matches
c. Winning both matches and the Arsenal
d. Both matches the Arsenal won
11) Having overall responsibility for the course _____ I have a lot of meetings.
a. means that
b. mean that
c. meaning
d. and meaning that
12) _____ remains a mystery.
a. Those who took them
b. Whoever took them
c. People that took them
d. Who taking them
13) Ten thousand dollars _____ for a poor villager like Mr. Lam.
a. is a big sum of money
b. are a big sum of money
c. is a large number of money
d. are a great number of money
14) The only excuse he gave for his actions _____ that he was tired.
a. being
b. to be
c. was
d. were
15) After the divorce, he never saw her again, _____.
a. not did he hear from her
b. nor did he hear from her
c. neither did he hear from her
d. nor he did hear from her
16) Phenomena such as sun spots _____ scientists for centuries.
a. has puzzled
b. have puzzled
c. has been puzzling
d. were puzzled
17) A number of refugees _____ turned back at the border.
a. has
b. was
c. have been
d. is being
18) What worries us _____ the poor selection process.
a. to be
b. being
c. are
d. is
19) Among the people invited _____ the mayor.
a. was
b. were
c. have been
d. to have been
20) At this time of the year the Netherlands _____ one hour ahead of the UK.
a. is
b. are
c. go
d. lead
21) One of the reasons she took the job _____ she could work from home.
a. that
b. was that
c. being that
d. were that
22) Displayed on the board _____ the exam results.
a. were
b. was
c. would been
d. has been
23) _____ is needed is an effective measure to reduce road accidents.
a. All
b. That
c. All that
d. Thing that
24) _____ has been planned, we’ll leave the next step to you.
a. As
b. That
c. That it
d. Such
25) Public discussion of our international and domestic problems _____ by congressmen who are actually interested only in re-election.
a. is being over-politicized
b. are being over-politicized
c. to be over-politicized
c. over-politicized

B. Choose the underlined part in each sentence that needs correcting.

1) Scientists ar the medical center is trying to determine if there is a relationship between saccharine and cancer.
2) Few airports in the United States is as morden as those of Atlanta.
3) The popularity of soccer in the US were increased significantly by the playing of the World Cup in cities throughout the century in 1994.
4) Work on improving industrial disposal methods were begun in the early 1970s, shortly after the Clean Air Bill was passed by Congress.
5) The great digital advances of the electronic age, such as integrated circuitry and a microcomputer, has been planted in tiny chips.
6) Of all the evidence that has piled up since Webster’s paper was published, there is no new ideas to contradict his original theory.
7) On the floor of the Pacific Oceans is hundreds of flat-toped mountainsmore than a mile beneath sea level.
8) Some of the most useful resistor material are carbon, metals, and metallic alloys.
9) Every human typically have 23 pairs of chromosomes in most cells.
10) In the sport of fencing, tree type of swords are used: the foil, the epee, and the saber.
11) There was four groups of 20 rats each involved in the test.
12) A number of the applicants has already been interviewed.
13) The number of wild horses on Assateague are increasing lately, resulting overgrazed marsh and dune grasses.
14) The governor, with his wife and children, are at home watching the election returns on television.
15) Nobody know when the process of glass-making was invented.

Thư mục tham khảo:

1. Understanding and Using English Grammar (Betty Azar)
2. English Grammar In Use (Raymond Murphy)

[Tô Tỉn]

hay qá :x kó thêm bonus exercises =)) =)) =))

[holaboy]

học ngữ pháp nhiều mà hok dùng nhiều nên mau quên lắm lận :(

[banh_dau_ngot]

thanks bạn nhé...mình bị dốt phần này nè...