Sentence Correction句子改错 是GMAT考试中的一个项目，用于考察正式英语的书写能力，通过研究GMAT句子改错可以提高英语语法，遣词造句更加严谨整洁。
单复数问题属于GMAT Sentence Correction考察的八大类中的Agreement和Diction类别，相对简单但有很多隐蔽的问题需要注意。
目录
通过or或nor结合的复合名词的单复数性质由离动词最近的名词决定
名词相关的单复数问题
可数名词与不可数名词
有一个检查名词是否可数的简单办法: one xxx,two xxx, three xxx... 通过体会语义是否正确来判断该名词是否可数，例如one hat, two hats, three hats感觉没问题，one water, two waters会感觉到出错，因为不可数名词前是不能用数字的。
可数名词也叫Unit nouns，不可数名词也叫Mass nouns。
不可数名词Mass nouns: furniture, equipment, advice, information, blood, wisdom, work, money ...
不可数名词Mass nouns是没有复数这一概念，反过来说可能也不属单数这一概念，不过在语法中按照可数名词的单数来对待，例如The sand burns my feet。不可数名词前不可以用不定冠词a和an，所以你只能说The air is great.
有些单词在不同的上下文中可以是可数名词也可以是不可数名词，例如paper：
不可数：The printer needs more paper.
可数：I have to write three papers tomorrow.
有些可数名词的单复数形式是一样的
例如：sheep, deer, aircraft, species, fish。它们虽然是可数名词，但是没有另外的复数形式。sheep的复数形式还是写作sheep。
量词(名词修饰语)
从GMAT的角度看，与名词结合的量词只是一种名词修饰语，可分为可数名词修饰语与不可数名词修饰语。
Countable modifiers,可数名词修饰语：many, not many, few, fewer, fewest, number of, fewer than, numerous, more numerous...
Uncountable modifiers,不可数名词修饰语：much, not much, little, less, least, amount, less than a certain amount of, great, greater...
Countable and uncountable modifiers,两种都可以用的名词修饰语: some, more, most, enough, all...
可数与不可数之间不能混用，例如一个常见错误是将不可数名词修饰语less用在可数物体上：
Wrong: 10 items or less
Right: 10 items or fewer
The word “NUMBER”
number既有“数字”也有“数量”的意思
表示数字：Its numbers are greater than before.
表示数量：The number of xxx is...
"The NUMBERS of"的写法总是错的，因为一个东西不可能有多种数量。
A number of 是习语短语idiomatic expression，表示“多个”的意思，可以看做一个量词，用于可数名词，相当于many的意思：
A number of cars are... = Many cars are...
表示集合的名词的单复数
大多看起来是单数（非s结尾）并表示集合的名词在GMAT中都是单数性质：
People相关: agency, army, audience, class, committee, crowd, orchestra, team
Items相关: baggage, citrus, equipment, fleet, fruit, furniture
但以上名词在英式英语中算是复数
还有些单词的单复数取决于上下文：
The data is ...
These data are ...
还有些名词由idiom习语决定，没什么规律：
the British are
Police are
Navy is
在GMAT例题中如果出现以上单词基本会给出它的单复数线索，而不会当做考点，注意单复数的一致性即可。
通过语义判断单词或短语是表示多个个体还是一个集合
同一个单词或短语，有时可以作为复数表示多个个体，有时也可以作为单数表示一个集合或量
多个个体：Six dollars were withdrawn from the box, one at a time.
一个集合：Six dollars is a high price for that.
多个个体：The staff are working well together.
一个集合：The staff is larger than it used to be.
一个集合：Today's news is ...
一个集合：The Cayman Islands is ...
一个集合：The Grapes of Wrath is ...
一个集合（美金）：We have less than 20 dollars.
多个个体（钞票）We have fewer than 20 dollars.
短语或从句做名词时总是单数
Having good friends is...
Whatever they want to do is...
通过or或nor结合的复合名词的单复数性质由离动词最近的名词决定
The boy or the girl is ...
The boy or the girls are ...
不定代词相关的单复数问题
代词用于替换其他的名词或代词，这些被替代的名词或代词在该代词之前会有出现，而不定代词Indefinite Pronouns是不指明被替代的词的代词。
一般以 -one, -body, -thing结尾的不定代词是单数，以及
Anyone, anybody, anything
Each, every(as pronouns)
Everyone, everybody, everything
Either, neither(没有or/nor)
No one, nobody, nothing
Someone, somebody, something
whatever, whoever
The SANAM pronouns
与不定代词Some,Any,None,All,More/Most结合的短语的单复数取决于 of 之后的单词的单复数性质：
Some of the money 单
Some of the cars 复
但也有特例，例如none/any of 有时要结合上下文分析单复数：
None of my friends is ... .
Any of these women is suitable candidate for marriage to my son.
以上of之后的名词是复数，但短语整体还是算单数。
同理，half,majority,minority,plurality等词很多时候也要结合上下文分析，例如
表示一个单体：Half of the pie is...
表示多个个体：Half of the slices are...
表示多个个体：The majority of the students in this class are hard workers.
表示一个集合：In the Senate, the majority has coalesced into a unified voting block.
但这种会出现争议较大的特例例题在GMAT中较少出现。
"One of..." 详解
One of相关问题的核心是对主语的正确判断。
1,One of the grils who are ... / One of the cars that are ... 复数
2,One of the girls is ... 单数
3,Only one of the girls ... 单数
4.Only one of the girls who are ... / Only one of the cars that are ... 复数
5,The only one of the girls who is ... / The only car of the cars that is ... 单数
"Not one"总是单数
Not one of my friends is here this weekend.
Each和Every相关问题
Each/Every XXX has something 或 Each/Every XXX and YYY has something
They each have ... 是复数
有时each使用不当会有歧义的问题，例如：
The circuits each have separate switches.
这句话可以理解为每个电路的开关都不同或每个电路有很多不同的开关，更准确的表示方法为：
Each circuit has a separate switch. = 每个电路的开关都不同 或 Each circuit has separate switches. = 每个电路有很多不同的开关。
动词相关的单复数问题
所有在命令虚拟语气Command Subjunctive中出现的动词都必须是bare infinitive(不定式去掉to)：
正常语气：The researcher suspends further testing
命令虚拟语气：He asked that the researcher suspend further testing.
to be在条件虚拟语气中总是were：
正常语气：The researcher was there.
条件虚拟语气：He wouldn’t ask that if research were there.
注意不要被倒装句迷惑
例如下句中主语其实是lonely house：
Near those buildings sits a lonely house.
注意下句中决定谓语动词attend的动词形式的助动词will的位置：
In none of these cases will either the councilor or the mayor attend the hearings.
实在不确定时可以倾向单数
因为在GMAT中会让你分不清单复数的主语大部分是单数。
与以上语法点相关的一些例题
(下划线为例题可能需修改处，绿色为修改后的正确部分)
例题：In 1979 lack of rain reduced India’s rice production to about 41 million tons, nearly 25 percent less than those of the 1978 harvest.
修改：In 1979 lack of rain reduced India's rice production to about 41 million tons, nearly 25 percent less than the 1978 harvest.
分析：案例中的those应指向可数名词复数，也就是41 million tons，但是通过上下文分析，“1979年的41吨收成比1978年收成的吨位少了25%”，有点不通，因为需要比较的是收成本身而不是吨位。修改后，rice production是不可数名词，使用less than正确的与另一个不可数名词harvest进行了比较。
例题：While it costs about the same to run nuclear plants as other types of power plants, it is the fixed costs that stem from building nuclear plants that makes it more expensive for them to generate electricity.
修改：While the cost of running nuclear plants is about the same as for other types of power plants,the fixed costs that stem from building nuclear plants make the electricity they generate more expensive.
分析：It is X that does Y句型更适用于“由于谁做了某些动作而导致...”，在本例题中不适用。另外fixed costs是复数与之后的动词makes主谓不一致。
例题：In 1983, using both ground-penetrating radar equipment—much of it constructed themselves—as well as clues from the autobiography of film director Cecil B. DeMille, the film enthusiasts Peter Brosnan and John Parker located and unearthed the massive set of DeMille's epic 1923 film The Ten Commandments.
修改：In 1983, using both ground-penetrating radar equipment—much of which they constructed themselves—and clues from the autobiography of film director Cecil B. DeMille, film enthusiasts Peter Brosnan and John Parker located and unearthed the massive set of DeMille's epic 1923 film The Ten Commandments.
分析：例题中much of it指向的是much of radar equipment，但是radar equipment不能做之后的反身动词constructed themselves的主语，与themselves也有单复数不一致的问题。both xxx as well as yyy也不符合语法。修改后的much of which指向much of radar equipment，之后的they constructed themselves的they指向之后的三个人。both xxx and yyy是正确句型。
例题：A recent report from the Bureau of Justice states although only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, approximately one out of every thirty two Americans are either in prison or on parole or probation.
修改：A recent report from the Bureau of Justice states that while only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, one out of every thirty two Americans is either in prison, on parole or on probation.
分析：例题中的states后缺一个that。之后有两个比较长的短语，a fraction of a percent of the American population是单数正确的接了is，但是one out of every thirty two Americans也是单数却错误了接了are。
例题：A report by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science has concluded that much of the currently uncontrolled dioxins to which North Americans are exposed comes from the incineration of wastes.
修改：A report by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science has concluded that many of the currently uncontrolled dioxins to which North Americans are exposed come from the incineration of wastes.
分析：这里有一个比较微妙的名词主语dioxin，我觉得它根据上下文可以分别按照可数或不可数名词对待（气体二噁英或者二噁英类的气体），所以much of dioxin或者many of the dioxins都可以。例题中的much of the...dioxins一定是错的，而且如果做不可数名词与后面的are也不一致。修改后的many of the... dioxins定冠词使用没问题，作为可数名词复数与之后的are以及动词come也都一致。
B. The number of prizes won by Irish poet Seamus Heaney include
C. Irish poet Seamus Heaney has won numbers of prizes for his work, including
D. The numbers of prizes won by Irish poet Seamus Heaney include
E. Seamus Heaney's Irish poetry has won a number of prizes for him, including
参考：
Manhattan Sentence Correction 5th Edition
Manhattan Sentence Correction 6th Edition
GMAT Official Guide 2022
GMAT Offical Guide Verbal Review 2022
维护日志：
2022-10-31：修改
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