一）主謂一致的種類

1．語法形式上的一致

主語為單數形式，謂語動詞用單數形式；主語為復數形式，謂語動詞也用復數形式。如：

The number of the students present is 200.

Jane and Mary look alike.

2．意義上一致

1）主語形式雖為單數，但意義為復數，謂語動詞用復數。如：The crowd were shouting.

單數形式代表復數內容的詞有：people, police, cattle等。

2）主語形式為復數，而意義上卻是單數，謂語動詞用單數。如：The news was so surprising.

形復意單的單詞有news和一些以ics結尾的學科名稱，如physics，politics, economics等。

3．就近原則

即謂語動詞的單、復數形式取決于最靠近它的詞語。如用連詞or，either…or, neither…not, not only…but also等連接的并列主語，如果一個是單數，一個是復數，謂語動詞與靠近它的主語一致。如：

Either your students or Mr. Wang knows this.

（二）主謂一致的應用

1．名詞作主語

1）某些集體名詞，如family, team等作主語時，如果作為一個整體看待，謂語動詞用單數形式，如果就其中一個個成員而言，謂語動詞用復數形式。如：

His family is a happy one.

The whole family are watching TV.

這類名詞有：audience，class，club，company，crew，enemy，crowd，government，group，party，public，team等。

名詞population一詞的使用情況類似。“a group(crowd) of +復數名詞”等短語之后的謂語動詞也同樣可用單數或復數，前者強調整體，后者強調各個部分。

2）某些集體名詞，如people, police, cattle等，只當復數看待，謂語動詞必須用復數。如：

The police are searching for the thief.

3）單、復數同形的名詞主語時，謂語動詞應根據意義決定單、復數。如：

A sheep is over there.

Some sheep are over there.

4）名詞所有格之后的名詞被省略，這種情況一般只指商店、工廠、住宅等，作主語時，動詞一般用單數。如：

The doctor’s is across the street.

My uncle’s is not far from here.

常見的省略名詞有：the baker’s, the barber’s, the carpenter’s, the Zhang’s等。

表示店鋪的名詞，一般作集體名詞看待，但用作主語時，謂語動詞往往用復數。如：

Richardson’s have a lot of goods to sell.

5）當名詞詞組中心詞為表示度量、距離、金額、時間、書名等復數名詞時，往往可以根據意義一致的原則，把這些復數名詞看作一個整體，謂語用單數形式。如：

Three years has passed since then.

6）不定代詞each, every, no所修飾的名詞即使以and或逗號連接成多主語時，謂語動詞仍用單數形式。如：

Each boy and each girl wants to go to the cinema.

7）如果主語有more than one…或many a…構成，盡管從意義上看是復數內容，但它的謂語動詞仍用單數形式。如：

More than one student has read the book.

Many a girl has been there.

但是，“more +復數名詞+than one”結構之后，謂語動詞一般多用復數形式。如：

More members than one are against your plan.

8）一些有兩個部分構成的名詞表示衣物或工具作主語時，謂語動詞通常用復數形式，例如：glasses, clothes, trousers, shoes, compasses, chopsticks, scissors等。但如果主語用“a kind of, a pair of , a series of等加名詞”構成時，謂語動詞一般用單數形式。如：

A pair of shoes was on the desk.

9）this kind of book =a book of this kind（這種書），其謂語動詞用單數；短語this kind of men =men of this kind =these kind of men(口語)（這一類人），但this kind of men的謂語動詞用單數，men of this kind和these kind of men的謂語動詞用復數，all kinds of后跟復數名詞，謂語動詞用復數形式。如：

This kind of men is dangerous.

Men of this kind are dangerous.

10）復數形式的單、復數同形名詞作主語時，按意義一致原則，作用單數意義時，謂語用單數，反之，謂語用復數。這類名詞有：means（方法），works（工廠），species（種類），Chinese，Japanese等。如：

The (This) glass works was set up in 1980. (這家玻璃廠建于1980年。)

The（These）glass works are near the railway station. （這些玻璃廠在火車站附近。）

當它們前面有a, such a , this, that修飾時，謂語用單數；有all, such, these, those修飾時，謂語用復數，但means, no means, the means等詞前沒有以上修飾詞時，可用作單數，也可用作復數。

11）如果名詞詞組中心詞是all，most, half, rest等詞語，所指的復數意義，謂語動詞用復數形式；反之，用單數。如：

All of my classmates like music.

All of the water is gone.

12)在主謂倒裝的句子中，謂語動詞的數應與其后的主語一致。如：

Between the two windows hangs a picture.

2．由連接詞連接的名詞作主語

1） 用and或both…and連接并列主語，謂語動詞通常用復數形式。如：

Plastics and rubber never rot.

Walking and riding are good exercises.

但是，并列主語如果指的是同一個人、同一事物或同一概念時，謂語動詞用單數形式，這時and后面的名詞沒有冠詞。如：

Truth and honesty is the best policy.

The girl’s teacher and friend is a young doctor.

To love and to be loved is great happiness.

Going to bed early and getting up early is a good habit.

A knife and fork is on the table.

2）當主語后面跟有as well as, as much as, no less than, along with, with, like, rather than, together with, but, except, besides, including, in addition to等引導的詞組時，其謂語動詞的單、復數而定。如：

The teacher as well as the students was reading in the library.

３）以or, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also等連接的名詞（代詞）作主語時，謂語動詞的單復數應根據就近一致的原則。如：

Tom or his brothers are waiting in the room.

Either you or he is to go.

3．代詞作主語

1）名詞性物主代詞作主語時，既可以用作單數，也可以用作復數，這取決于它所代替的是單數還是復數。如：

Ours (Our Party) is a great party.

Your shoes are black, and mine(=my shoes) are brown.

2）such, the same起指示代詞作用時，應根據其所指的內容來決定單、復數。如：

Such is our plan. Such are his words.

3）關系代詞who, that, which等在定語從句中作主語時，其謂語動詞的數應與句中先行詞的數一致。如：

Those who want to go please put up your hands.

Some of the energy that is used by man comes from the sun.

4）疑問代詞who, what, which作主語時，謂語動詞可根據說話人所要表達的意思決定單、復數。如：

Who lives next door ? It is Xiao Liu.

Who live next door ? It is Zhang and Liu.

What produce(s) heat ?

5）不定代詞any, either, neither, none, all some, more等作主語時，有以下兩種情況：

單獨作主語時，視其在文中的意義，動詞用單數或復數形式，例如：

Now all has been changed. All are present.

either, neither單獨作主語時，謂語通常用單數。

但后接of時，若of的賓語為不可數名詞，動詞當然用單數形式，若of的賓語為復數名詞或代詞時，動詞可以是單數，也可以是復數，在正式文體中，單數形式的動詞更常用。如：

Do(es) any of you know his address ?

None of them has(have)seen the film.

4．分數、量詞作主語

1）“分數或百分數+名詞”構成的短語以及由“a lot of, lots of plenty of, a large quantity of, a heap of, heaps of, half of +名詞”構成的短語作主語時，其謂語動詞要與短語中of后面的名詞的數保持一致，這是因為短語中后面的名詞是中心詞，而短語中前面的量詞是修飾語，例如：

Lots of damage was caused by fire.

About three-fourths of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Three-fifths of the workers here are women.

和這種情況類似的還有“a number of+名詞復數”，但是，“the number of +名詞”的中心詞卻是number, 試比較：

A number of students have gone home.

The number of pages in this book is two hundred. 注意：(large)quantities of修飾可數或不可數名詞，其短語作主語時，謂語動詞一般用復數，例如：

Quantities of food(nuts) were on the table.

短語in quantity, in large quantities意為“大量”；in small quantities意為“少量”。

2）a great deal of , a large amount of修飾不可數名詞，其短語作主語時，謂語動詞通常用單數；large amounts of修飾不可數名詞，其短語作主語時，謂語動詞通常用復數，例如：

A large amount of(A great deal of)damage was done in a very short time.

Large amounts of money were spent on the bridge.

3）表示數量的one and a half后，名詞要用復數形式，但是其短語作主語時，謂語動詞用單數形式，例如：

One and a half bananas is left on the table.

4）half of, (a) part of修飾可數名詞單數及不可數名詞時，謂語動詞用單數，修飾可數名詞復數時，謂語動詞用復數。

5．名詞化的形容詞作主語

如果主語由“the+形容詞（或過去分詞）”結構擔任時，謂語通常用復數，這類詞有：the brave, the poor, the rich, the blind, the young, the old, the sick, the dead, the deaf and dumb, the oppressed, the injured, the wounded, the unemployed等；但也有少數的過去分詞與定冠詞連用時指個別，則用單數。如：

The blind study in special schools.

The departed was a well-known engineer.

這類形容詞或分詞如果要表示個體時，就要與名詞man, person或表示人的單數連和，如：an old man, a rich person, the(a)wounded soldier

6．從句作主語

1）由what引導的主語從句，謂語動詞通常用單數，但所指的具體內容是復數意義時，謂語動詞一般用復數形式，例如：

What we need is more time.

What we need are doctors.

2）在“one of+復數名詞++who/that/which”引導的從句結構中，關系代詞who/that/which的先行詞是靠近它的復數名詞而不是one，因此，從句中的動詞應該是復數形式。如：

This is one of the most interesting stories that have been told.

但是當one之前有the only等修飾語時，關系代詞的先行詞是one，而不是靠近它的復數名詞，因此從句的動詞應是單數形式。如：

She was the only one of the girls who was late.