| 单词 | 单数形式 |
| 释义 | 〔etiquette〕Decorum and the singular formpropriety denote conformity with established standards of manners or behavior: Decorum 以及单数形式的properity 指的是与已有的举止或行为标准一致： 〔either〕Ineither . . . or constructions, the two conjunctions should be followed by parallel elements.The following is regarded as incorrect:You may either have the ring or the bracelet (properly, You may have either the ring or the bracelet ). The following is also incorrect:She can take either the examination offered to all applicants or ask for a personal interview (properly, She can either take . . . ). · When used as a pronoun,either is singular and takes a singular verb: The two left-wing parties disagree with each other more than either does (not do ) with the right. When followed byof and a plural noun, either is often used with a plural verb: 在either … or 结构中， 两个连接词后应跟并列成分。下面这句话被认为是不正确的：You may either have the ring or the bracelet ，正确的应是 You may have either the ring or the bracelet （你既可以有戒指也可以有手镯） 下面这句也是不对的：She can take either the examination offered to all applicants or ask for a personal interview。 正确的应是， She can either take …（她可以参加提供给所有申请人的考试，也可以要求一个单独面试。） 作为代名词时，either 是单数，动词应用单数形式： The two left-wing parties disagree with each other more than either does （不用 do ) with the right.（两个左翼党之间的分歧比任何一个与右翼党的分歧都要大） 当后面接of 和一个复数名词的时候， either 经常与动词复数形式配合： 〔phenomenon〕Phenomenon is the only singular form of this noun; phenomena is the usual plural. Phenomenons may also be used as the plural in nonscientific writing when the meaning is "extraordinary things, occurrences, or persons": Phenomenon 是这个名词唯一的单数形式； phenomena 是常用的复数形式。 Phenomenons 在非科技性的文章也可当作复数使用， 其意思是：“不寻常的事或人”： 〔singulative〕A singulative form or construction.单数形式，单数结构〔plus〕Philosophers of mathematics have long debated the proper analysis of the relation denoted by the + sign in equations such as 2 + 2 = 4,so it is not surprising that the syntactic status of its natural language equivalent, the wordplus, should be similarly problematic— though to be sure, the questions are primarily of theoretical interest.When mathematical equations are pronounced as English sentences,the verb is usually in the singular:Two plus two is (or equals ) four. By the same token,subjects containing two noun phrases joined byplus are usually construed as singular: 数学哲学家们已就诸如2+2=4这类等式中的“+”号所表示的关系的正确分析进行了长期的辩论，所以这一符号的自然语言对应物——即单词plus 的语法地位应同样不确定也就不足为奇了—— 纵然可以确定，这些问题也主要是理论上的兴趣。当数学等式被转化为英语句子，动词通常用单数形式：Two plus two is（或 equals ） four。 通过同样的记号，包含两个由plus 联结的名词短语的主语通常被视为单数： 〔number〕As a collective nounnumber may take either a singular or a plural verb. It takes a singular verb when it is preceded by the definite articlethe : 作为一个集合名词，number 既可以跟动词单数形式也可以跟动词复数形式。 当它前面是定冠词the 时，后跟单数动词： 〔pair〕Pair as a noun can be followed by a singular or plural verb. The singular is always used whenpair denotes the set taken as a single entity: This pair of shoes is on sale. A plural verb is used when the members are considered as individuals:The pair are working more harmoniously now. After a number other than onepair itself can be either singular or plural, but the plural is now more common:She bought six pairs (or pair ) of stockings. 作为一个名词pair 后面可接单数动词或复数动词。 当pair 意味着把一套当成单个整看时，通常用单数形式： 这双鞋在打折 当把各组成部分当成单独的个体时， 用动词的复数形式：这对搭档现在合作得更加和谐 。 在一些而不是一个物体后，pair 本身既可是单数也可是复数， 但现在用复数更为普遍：她买了六双 （或 pair ) 裤袜 〔every〕Every is representative of a large class of English words and expressions that are singular in formbut felt to be plural in sense.The class includes, for example, noun phrases introduced byevery, any, and certain uses of some. These expressions invariably take a singular verb;we say Every car has (not have ) been tested. Anyone is (not are ) liable to fall ill. But when a sentence contains a pronoun whose antecedent is introduced byevery, grammar and sense pull in different directions.The grammar of these expressions requires a singular pronoun, as in Every car must have its brakes tested, but people persist in using the plural pronoun,as in Every car must have their brakes tested. Although the latter pattern is common in the speech of all groups,it is still widely regarded as grammatically incorrect in writing. ·The effort to adhere to the grammatical rule leads to various complications, however.The first is grammatical.When a pronoun refers to a phrase containingevery or any that falls within a different independent clause, the pronoun cannot be singular.Thus it is simply not English to sayEvery man left; he took his raincoat with him. Nor can one sayNo one could be seen, could he? Writers unwilling to use plural forms in these examples must find another way of expressing their meaning,either by rephrasing the sentence so as to get the pronoun into the same clause (as inEvery man left, taking his raincoat with him ) or by substituting another word forevery or any (as in All the men left; they took their raincoats with them. ) · The second complication is political.When a phrase introduced byevery or any refers to a group containing both men and women, what shall be the gender of the singular pronoun?This matter is discussed in the Usage Note athe. See Usage Note at all ,any ,each ,either ,he 1neither ,none Every 是一大类英语单词和短语的代表， 它们在形式上是单数的，但在意义上感觉起来却是复数。例如，这一类词中所包括的由every，any 和某些用法中的 some 所引导的名词短语。 这些短语毫无例外的跟单数动词，我们说每辆车都已 （不是 have ） 被测试过。 每个人都（不是 are ） 会生病 。 但是当一个句子中包括一个由先行词every 引导的代词时， 从句法和意义上就要区分不同的情况了。象每一辆车必须测试它的制动器 这样的表达法在语法上要求使用一单数代词， 但人们总习惯于用复数代词，象Every car must have their brakes tested 这样。 虽然后面这种形式在各种团体的讲话中非常普遍，但它在写作中仍广泛地被认为是语法上的错误。无论如何，坚持语法规则的努力总会导致各种各样的复杂问题。首先是语法上的复杂性。当一个代词指代一个短语，而这个短语中包括every 或 any 属于另一个与此代词所在子句不同的独立子句中时， 这个代词不能用单数形式。因此很容易理解英国人为何不说每个人离开时，都拿着各自的雨衣 ， 也不说没有人会被看到，不是吗？ 。 不愿意在这些例子中用复数形式的书写者必须找到另外一种表达他们意思的方法，或者可以通过重新改变句子的说法以使代词与其指代的短语同属一个从句中（如Every man left， taking his raincoat with him ）， 或者通过以另一个词代替every 或 any 的方法（如 All the man left；they took their raincoats with them ）。 第二是政治上的复杂性。当一个被every 或 any 引导的短语指代的一个团体中既有男人又有女人时， 单数代词的词性怎么确定呢？这个问题在单词he的用法说明中将被讨论 参见 all,any,each,either,he1neither,none〔each〕The traditional rule holds thatwhen the subject of a sentence begins witheach, it is grammatically singular,and the verb and following pronouns must be singular as well: 传统规则规定，当句子的主语以each 开始时， 语法上讲是单数形式，所以动词及相应的代词也必须使用单数形式： 〔medium〕The etymologically plural formmedia is often used as a singular to refer to a particular means of communication,as inThis is the most exciting new media since television. This usage is widely regarded as incorrect;medium is preferred. A stronger case can be made in defense of the use ofmedia as a collective term, as inThe media has not shown much interest in covering the issue. As with the analogous wordsdata and agenda, the originally plural form has begun to acquire a sense that departs from that of the singular: used as a collective term,media denotes an industry or community. Thus the example sentence given here would not be appropriately paraphrased asNo medium has shown much interest in covering the issue, which suggests that the disinclination abides in the means of communication itselfrather than in its practitioners.Ifmedia follows the pattern of data and agenda, this singular use may become entirely acceptable someday.But despite its utility,many people still regard it as a grammatical error.语源复数形式media 常用作单数， 用来指传播手段中的某一种，例如在下面这是自电视出现以来最激动人心的新式传媒 的句子中。 许多人都认为这一用法是不正确的；他们还是喜欢用medium 这一单数形式。 我们能提出更为有力的例子来为media 作为集合名词的用法进行辩护， 如下面的句子：大众传媒对于报道这一事件没有表现出多大兴趣 。 正如类似于原为复数形式的其他两个词data 和 agenda 已经开始具有其单数形式的含义： 用作集合名词的media 现在则可以指传播工业或共同体。 这样的话，我们刚才给出的例句就不能改成如下形式：没有传媒对报道这一事件表现出很大兴趣 ， 因为这样改动后，这句话所表示的是传播工具本身的不愿意，而不是业者的不愿意。如果media 也象 data 和 agenda 那样， 那么它作为单数形式的用法总有一天会被完全接受的。但是不管它的实用性大小，许多人仍将其视为一个语法错误〔singular〕A word having a singular number.单数词：单数形式的词〔graffito〕The formgraffiti, based on the Italian plural, is far more common than the singular form graffito. Graffitiis often used as a singular noun. When the reference is to a particular inscription (as inThere was a bold graffiti on the wall ), the formgraffito would be etymologically correct but might strike some readers as pedantic outside an archaeological context.There is no substitute for the singular use ofgraffiti when the word is used as a mass noun to refer to inscriptions in general or to the related social phenomenon. The sentenceGraffiti is a major problem for the Transit Authority Police cannot be rewordedGraffito is . . . (since graffito can refer only to a particular inscription) or Graffiti are . . . , which suggests that the police problem involves only the physical marks and not the larger issue of vandalism.In such contexts,the use ofgraffiti as a singular is justified by both utility and widespread precedent. 基于意大利语的复数形式graffiti 远比单数形式 graffito更普遍。 Graffiti常用作单数名词。 当意指一特定涂鸦物（如在墙上有一处下流的涂鸦 中）， graffito 的形式在词形变化上是正确的， 但可能会在古文化语境外使一些人显得迂腐。graffiti 的单数作物质名词使用来指涂鸦的总称或相应的社会现象时，是没有替代词的。 句子：涂鸦是公共交通警察局遇到的主要难题 ， 不能用Graffito is … 来替换（因为 graffito 只能指一具体的涂鸦）或用 Graffiti are … 来替换， 因其意指警察的问题只涉及存在的标记而不是破坏公物的大问题。在这些语境中，graffiti 作为单数形式的使用是被广泛使用的先例所证实的 〔series〕Series is both a singular and a plural form. When it has the singular sense of "one set,”it takes a singular verb, even whenseries is followed by of and a plural noun: Series 既是单数形式又是复数形式。 当它具有“一套”的单数意思时，它使用单数动词，即使当series 紧接着 of 和一个复数名词时也是如此： 〔people〕Used as a pluralpeople is a form with no exactly corresponding singular. (English is not odd in this respect:the equivalent word is anomalous in Spanish, Italian, Russian, and many other languages.)In the past, grammarians have sometimes insisted thatpeople is a collective noun that should not be used as a substitute forpersons when referring to a specific number of individuals, as inSix people were arrested. Butpeople has always been used in such contexts, and the distinction is now so widely ignored in general writingthat it seems pedantic to insist on it.Persons is still preferred in quasilegal contexts, however, as inVehicles containing fewer than three persons may not use the left lane during rush hours. Only the singularperson is used in compounds involving a specific numeral: People 用做复数时无确切的单数形式。 （在此方面英语是不固定的：在西班牙语、意大利语和许多其它语言中相应的词是不规则的。）过去，语法学家曾坚持说people 是集合名词， 不能替代描述特定数量个体的persons ， 如在六个人被捕了 中。 但是people 常用在这样的上下文中， 其区别在一般的书面语中被大大忽略了，再坚持其区别则显得多余。Persons 仍多被用在法律性的语境中， 例如在交通高峰期容纳少于三个人的汽车不允许使用左单行道。 只有单数person 用在与具体数目有关的复合词中： 〔stratum〕The standard singular form isstratum; the standard plural isstrata (or sometimes stratums ) but notstratas. 标准的单数形式为stratum； 标准的复数形式为strata （或者有时为 stratums )， 但不是stratas 〔politics〕Politics, although etymologically plural, takes a singular verb when used to refer to the art or science of governing or to political science: Politics 虽然从词源角度来讲是复数性质的， 但当它被用来指统治的艺术或科学或是指政治学时却要接一个单数形式的动词： 〔university〕The universe in the worduniversity is not the universe as we know it, thoughuniversity is derived from the ancestor of our word universe. This ancestor, Latinūniversus, was made up of ūnus, "one,” and versus, "in a specified direction.” Universus thus literally meant "in one specified direction" but actually meant "the whole of, entire,” and "regarded as a whole, regarded as a group.”Universum, the neuter singular of ūniversus, used as a noun, meant "the universe,”as did the derivativeūniversitās, which also meant "a corporate body of persons, community.” During the Middle Ages, when Latin continued to be used in areas such as government, religion, and education,the wordūniversitās was applied to the new corporate bodies of teachers and students, as at Salerno, Paris, and Oxford, that were the ancestors of our universities of today.Our worduniversity, going back to the Latin word, is first recorded around 1300, with reference to this corporate body.University 一词中的"universe"并不是我们所知道的宇宙这个词， 虽然university 是由我们的 universe 这个词的前身派生而来的。 这一前身，即拉丁文中的universus 是由表示“一”的 unus 和表示“沿着某一特定的方向”的 versus 构成的。 Universus 字面上的意思因此就是“沿着一个特定的方向”， 但它实际的意思却是“整个、全部”和“被视为一个整体的，被视为一个群体的”。Universum ，是 universus 的中性单数形式， 用作名词时指“宇宙”，同样派生词universitas 也指“一群个人的联合体，社团”。 在中世纪，拉丁文继续在诸如政府、宗教和教育等领域得到使用，universitas 这个词被用来指由教师和学生所构成的新联合体，比如在萨勒诺、巴黎和牛津出现的这种联合体， 而这类联合体即是我们今天的大学的最初形式。我们今天的university 这个词可以上溯到拉丁词， 它首次被记录下来是在大约1300年，当时就是用来指这种联合体〔hisself〕Speakers of some vernacular American dialects, particularly in the South, may use the possessive reflexive formhisself instead of himself (as in He cut hisself shaving ) and theirselves or theirself for themselves (as in They found theirselves alone ). These forms reflect the tendency of speakers of vernacular dialects to regularize irregular patterns found in the corresponding standard variety. In Standard English, the pattern of reflexive pronoun forms shows slightly irregular patterning; all forms but two are composed of the possessive form of the pronoun and -self or -selves, as in myself or ourselves. The exceptions are himself and themselves, which are formed by attaching the suffix -self/-selves to the object forms of he and they rather than their possessive forms. Speakers who use hisself and theirselves are smoothing out the pattern's inconsistencies by applying the same rule to all forms in the set.·A further regularization is the use of -self regardless of number, yielding the forms ourself and theirself. Using a singular form in a plural context may seem imprecise, but the plural meaning of ourself and theirself is made clear by the presence of the plural forms our- and their-. Hisself and theirselves have origins in British English and are still prevalent today in vernacular speech in England. 一些美国本土方言的使用者，尤其是美国南方人，可能会用所有格的反身代词形式hisself 代替 himself （如 He cut hisself shaving﹝刮脸时他割到自己﹞ ）以及 theirselves 或 theirself 代替 themselves （如 They found theirselves alone﹝他们发觉自己很孤独﹞ ）。这些形式反映出本土方言使用者试图规则化相应标准变化中的不规则模式。在标准英语中，反身代词模式显示出略微不规则模式的形成；除两个反身代词外，所有的反身代词都由代词的所有格形式加 -self 或 -selves 构成（如 myself 或 ourselves ）。例外的就是 himself 和 themselves ，将后缀 -self/-selves 附加在 he 和 they 的宾格形式而不是所有格形式上形成。采用 hisself 和 theirselves 的本土方言使用者消除了将同一规则用于一组中所有形式时产生的模式矛盾。进一步的规则化是不考虑数量而全部使用 -self ，由此产生 ourself 和 theirself 。在复数上下文中使用单数形式似乎有失严谨，但 ourself 和 theirself 的复数含义已由复数形式的 our- 和 their-清楚表明。Hisself 和 theirselves 起源于英式英语并在英国本土语言中依然流行 〔anyone〕The one-word formanyone is used to mean "any person.” The two-word formany one is used to mean "whatever one (person or thing) of a group.” Anyone may join means that admission is open to everybody. Any one may join means that admission is open to one person only. When followed byof, only any one can be used: Any one (not anyone ) of the boys could carry it by himself. · Anyone is often used in place of everyone in sentences like She is the most thrifty person of anyone I know. In an earlier survey 64 percent of the Usage Panel found this sentence unacceptable in writing. ·Anyone and anybody are singular terms and always take a singular verb. See Usage Note at he 1单个词的形式anyone 用来表示“任何一人”。 两个词的形式any one 是指“一组里的任何一个（人或物）”。 Anyone may join 是指每个人都可进入。 Any one may join 意思是只有一个人可以进入。 当后面接of 时，只能用 any one ： Any one （不用 anyone ） of the boys could carry it by himself（任何一个孩子都可以提得动它） 。 Anyone 在有些句子里常取代 everyone ，如： 她是我认识的人中最节俭的 。 在早期的一次调查中，用法使用小组64%的成员认为该句子在书面语中不能接受。Anyone 和 anybody 是单数形式的名词，总搭配单数动词。 参见 he1〔regard〕Regard is traditionally used in the singular in the phrase in regard (not in regards ) to. Regarding and as regards are also standard in the sense "with reference to.” In the same sensewith respect to is acceptable, butrespecting is not. · Respects is sometimes considered preferable to regards in the sense of "particulars": In some respects (not regards ) the books are alike. Regard 传统上以单数形式出现在词组 in regard 中（而不是 in regards ) to。 Regarding和 as regards 也是正规用法，意为“关于…。” 具有同样意义的with respect to 也是可以接受的， 但用respecting 就不可以了。 在表示“个别”时，有时respects 比 regards 更适合： In some respects （而不用 regards ) the books are alike。 〔insignia〕From the singular use ofinsignia comes the plural insignias, which is also common in reputable writing.The Latin singularinsigne is rare and may strike some readers as pedantic.从insignia 的单数用法衍生到复数用法 inisiguias ， 这种用法在规范的写作中也很常见。拉丁语的单数形式insigue 很罕见， 这可能会使一些读者认为是在卖弄学问〔politics〕But in its other sensespolitics can take either a singular or plural verb. Many other nouns that end in-ics behave similarly, and the user is advised to consult specific entries for precise information.但用于其它意思上时，politics 则既可接单数形式的动词也可接复数形式的动词。 许多其它以-ics 结尾的名词用法也是如此， 使用者最好是查阅具体的词项以获取准确的信息〔kudos〕Kudos is one of those words like congeries that look like pluralsbut are etymologically singular:correctness requiresKudos is (not are ) due her for her brilliant work on the score. Some writers have tried to defend the use ofkudos with a plural verb, or even the introduction of a new singular form ofkudo, on the grounds that these innovations follow the pattern whereby the English words pea and cherry were re-formed from nouns ending in-s that were thought to be plural. Perhaps the singularkudo would have to be acknowledged as a legitimate formation if it came to be widely adopted in the popular language in the way that cherry and pea have. But at presentkudos is still regarded as a slightly pretentious variant for praise and can scarcely claim to be part of the linguistic folkways of the community.When writers reach for an unfamiliar Greek word for the sake of elegance,it is fair to ask that they get it right.Still, it is worth notingthat even people who are carefulto treat the word syntactically as a singularoften pronounce it as if it were a plural:etymology would require that the final consonant be pronounced as a voiceless (s),rather than as a voiced (z).Kudos 和 congeries 那些词一样， 看上去好象是复数，但从词源上看是单数：因此正确的用法应该是Kudos is （不是 are ） due her for her brilliant work on the score 。 许多作者为kudos 后跟动词复数形式的做法辩护， 他们甚至发明了一个新的词kudo 作为该词的单数形式，他们这样做是以英语单词 pea 和 cherry 的形成模式为依据的， 这些词都是从原先结尾带-s 的复数形式名词演化而来。 kudo 这种单数形式只有在象 cherry 和 pea 这样为大众语言所普遍接受之后才能被认可为一种正确的形式。 但是现在kudos 这个词仍被看作是 praise 这个词稍稍有些做作的变体， 还很难成为社群的习惯用语的一部份。当一个作家为了行文的优雅用一个生僻的希腊词的时候，他应该正确地使用它。但是值得注意的是，即使是那些非常仔细的人，他们在句子中把它用作单数，但在读的时候却读成复数的形式：根据词源来看，这个词最后一个辅音应该发成清辅音（s），而不是浊辅音（z）〔premise〕Why do we call a single buildingthe premises ? To answer this question,we must go back to the Middle Ages.But first, let it be noted thatpremises comes from the past participle praemissa, which is both a feminine singular and a neuter plural form of the Latin verbpraemittere, "to send in advance, utter by way of preface, place in front, prefix.” In Medieval Latin the feminine formpraemissa was used as a term in logic, for which we still use the termpremise descended from the Medieval Latin word (first recorded in a work composed before 1380).Medieval Latinpraemissa in the plural meant "things mentioned before" and was used in legal documents, almost always in the plural,a use that was followed in Old French and Middle English, both of which borrowed the word from Latin.A more specific legal sense in Middle English,"that property, collectively, which is specified in the beginning of a legal document and which is conveyed, as by grant,”was also always in the plural in Middle English and later Modern English.And so it remained when this sense was extended to mean "a house or building with its grounds or appurtenances,”a usage first recorded before 1730.为什么我们把单独的一幢建筑称为the premises ？ 为了回答这个问题，我们必须回到中世纪。但首先必须注意的是premises 是从过去式 praemissa 而来的， 这是意思为“预先发送,以前言的方式说出，放在前边，前缀”的拉丁动词praemittere 的阴性单数形式及中性复数形式。 在中世纪拉丁语中，praemissa 作为阴性形式被用作逻辑状语， 因此我们仍然使用这个来源于中世纪拉丁语的术语premise （第一次记载于1380年前编纂的作品中）。中世纪拉丁语praemissa 的复数形式意为“前面提到的事物”， 用于法律文件并总是以复数形式出现，古法语和中古英语中都从拉丁语中借用了这个词及其用法。中古英语中有一种更特殊的法律方面的意义，“法律文件开头指明并根据转让的财产，如通过赠送”,在中世纪英语和后来的现代英语中也是以复数形式使用。因此当它的意思被扩展为“连同其土地及设施一所房子或一幢建筑”时仍保留这一用法，该用法最初记载于1730年前。 |
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