中文動詞不變形——「他去、他們去」都是「去」。英文動詞跟著主詞單複數變形：he goes / they go。簡單的主詞很好判斷，但有些主詞看起來像什麼、其實是什麼完全相反。

為什麼是 Taiwanese 特有錯誤

主詞看起來是複數、結果要單數動詞——這對台灣學生是完全反直覺的。最經典：

❌ The news are shocking. ✅ The news is shocking.

四類陷阱

陷阱 1：不定代名詞 (everyone, nobody...) 單數

| 主詞 | 動詞 | |------|------| | everyone, everybody, everything | is / has / does | | someone, somebody, something | 單數 | | no one, nobody, nothing | 單數 | | anyone, anybody, anything | 單數 | | each, every + 名詞 | 單數 |

❌ Everyone have their own opinion. ✅ Everyone has their own opinion.

陷阱 2：-s 結尾卻是單數

| 主詞 | 動詞 | |------|------| | news | is | | mathematics, physics, economics, politics | 單數 | | the United States (國家) | 單數 | | measles, mumps (病名) | 單數 |

❌ The news are shocking. ✅ The news is shocking.

❌ Mathematics are difficult. ✅ Mathematics is difficult.

陷阱 3：集合名詞 (family, team...) — 英式兩種都行、美式單數

英式：把集體視為「個體們」→ 複數；視為「一個整體」→ 單數 美式：幾乎都單數

| 主詞 | 範例 | |------|------| | family, team, government | The team is winning. (美式) / The team are arguing among themselves. (英式) | | police | are (固定複數，例外) | | staff | 兩者皆可 |

IELTS 建議：一律用單數最安全。police 除外——police 永遠複數。

陷阱 4：兩個主詞用 and / or 連接

| 連接方式 | 動詞 | |---------|------| | A and B | 複數 | | A or B | 看 B（就近原則）| | Neither A nor B | 看 B | | A as well as B | 看 A |

❌ Tom and Lisa likes coffee. ✅ Tom and Lisa like coffee.

❌ Either you or I are wrong. ✅ Either you or I am wrong. (看 I)

❌ Neither the students nor the teacher know the answer. ✅ Neither the students nor the teacher knows the answer. (看 teacher)

陷阱 5：A of B 結構——主詞是 A 不是 B

| 結構 | 動詞 | |------|------| | the number of students | 單數 (number 是主詞) | | a number of students | 複數 (= many students) | | one of the students | 單數 (one) | | each of them | 單數 |

❌ The number of people are rising. ✅ The number of people is rising.

❌ A number of students is absent. ✅ A number of students are absent.

五個 ❌ vs ✅ 高頻對比

| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | |---------|-----------| | Everyone have a phone. | Everyone has a phone. | | The news are bad. | The news is bad. | | My family is big, they is kind. | My family is big; they are kind. (英式) 或 it is kind (美式) | | One of my friends are a doctor. | One of my friends is a doctor. | | Physics are my favourite subject. | Physics is my favourite subject. |

Quick Drill — 選正確動詞

  1. Everyone (is / are) welcome.
  2. The news (was / were) surprising.
  3. Mathematics (is / are) challenging.
  4. Each of the students (has / have) a book.
  5. One of my brothers (live / lives) in Kaohsiung.
  6. The police (is / are) investigating.
  7. Neither the boys nor the girl (know / knows) the answer.
  8. Physics and chemistry (is / are) hard.
  9. A number of tourists (was / were) injured.
  10. Twenty dollars (is / are) not much.

Answer Key

| # | 答案 | 解釋 | |---|------|-----| | 1 | is | everyone = 單數 | | 2 | was | news = 單數 | | 3 | is | 學科 -s 結尾單數 | | 4 | has | each of + 單數 | | 5 | lives | one of + 單數 | | 6 | are | police 永遠複數 | | 7 | knows | 就近原則 (girl) | | 8 | are | 兩科 = 複數 | | 9 | were | a number of = 複數 | | 10 | is | 金錢、距離視為「一個量」→ 單數 |

最後一招：寫完圈動詞

寫完作文只看動詞。找到每個動詞→找它的主詞→心裡念一次「單 / 複」——是對的才放下。

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