主谓一致的用法
在英语句子里，谓语受主语支配，其动词必须和主语在人称和数上保持一致，这就叫主谓一致。寻其规律，大致可归纳为三个原则，即语法一致、逻辑意义一致和就近一致原则。
一、就近一致原则
在英语句子中，有时谓语动词的人称和数与最近的主语保持一致。
1. 当两个主语由either …… or， neither …… nor， whether …… or ……， not only …… but also连接时，谓语动词和邻近的主语一致。如：Either the teacher or the students are our friends. / Neither they nor he is wholly right. / Is neither he nor they wholly right?
2. there be句型be动词单复数取决于其后的主语。如果其后是由and连接的两个主语，则应与靠近的那个主语保持一致。如：There are two chairs and a desk in the room.
注意：Here引导的句子用法同上。
二、语法一致原则
语法上一致就是谓语动词和主语在单、复数形式上保持一致。
1. 以单数名词或代词、动词不定式短语、动名词短语或从句作主语时，谓语动词一般用单数形式;主语为复数时，谓语动词用复数形式。如：His father is working on the farm. / To study English well is not easy. / What he said is very important for us all. / The children were in the classroom two hours ago. / Reading in the sun is bad for your eyes.
注意：由what引导的主语从句，后面的谓语动词多数情况用单数形式，但若表语是复数或what从句是一个带有复数意义的并列结构时，主句的谓语动词用复数形式。如：What I bought were three English books. / What I say and do is (are) helpful to you.
2. 由连接词and或both …… and连接起来的合成主语后面，要用复数形式的谓语动词。如：Lucy and Lily are twins. / She and I are classmates. / The boy and the girl were surprised when they heard the news. / Both she and he are Young Pioneers.
注意：(1)若and所连接的两个词是指同一个人或物时，它后面的谓语动词就应用单数形式。如：The writer and artist has come. (2)由and连接的并列单数主语前如果分别有no， each， every more than a (an) ， many a (an)修饰时，其谓语动词要用单数形式。如：Every student and every teacher was in the room. / No boy and no girl likes it.
3. 主语为单数名词或代词，尽管后面跟有with， together with， except， but， like， as well as， rather than， more than， no less than， besides， including等引起的短语，谓语动词仍用单数形式;若主语为复数，谓语用复数形式。如：Mr. Green， together with his wife and children， has come to China. / Nobody but Jim and Mike was on the playground. / She， like you and Tom， is very tall.
4. either， neither， each， every 或no +单数名词和由some， any， no， every构成的复合不定代词，都作单数看待。如：Each of us has a new book. / Everything around us is matter.
注意：(1)在口语中当either或neither后跟有“of+复数名词(或代词)”作主语时，其谓语动词也可用复数。如：Neither of the texts is (are) interesting. (2)若none of后面的名词是不可数名词，它的谓语动词就要用单数;若它后面的名词是复数，它的谓语动词用单数或复数都可以。如：None of us has (have) been to America.
5. 在定语从句时，关系代词that， who， which等作主语时，其谓语动词的数应与句中先行词的数一致。如：He is one of my friends who are working hard. / He is the only one of my friends who is working hard.
6. 如果集体名词指的是整个集体，它的谓语动词用单数;如果它指集体的成员，其谓语动词就用复数形式。这些词有family， class， crowd， committee， population， audience等。如：Class Four is on the third floor. / Class Four are unable to agree upon a monitor.
注意：people， police， cattle等名词一般都用作复数。如：The police are looking for the lost child.
7. 由“a lot of， lots of， plenty of， the rest of， the majority of + 名词”构成的短语以及由“分数或百分数+名词”构成的短语作主语，其谓语动词的数要根据短语中后面名词的数而定。如：There are a lot of people in the classroom. / The rest of the lecture is wonderful. / 50% of the students in our class are girls.
注意：a number of“许多”，作定语修饰复数名词，谓语用复数;the number of“……的数量”，主语是number，谓语用单数。
8. 在倒装句中，谓语动词的数应与其后的主语一致。如：There comes the bus. / On the wall are many pictures. / Such is the result. / Such are the facts.
三、逻辑意义一致原则
逻辑意义一致就是谓语动词的数必须和主语的意义一致(因有时主语形式为单数，但意义为复数;有时形式为复数，但意义为单数)。
1. what， who， which， any， more， all等代词可以是单数，也可是复数，主要靠意思来决定。如：Which is your bag? / Which are your bags? / All is going well. / All have gone to Beijing.
2. 表示“时间、重量、长度、价值”等的名词的复数作主语时，谓语动词通常用单数形式，这是由于作主语的名词在概念上是一个整体，如：Thirty minutes is enough for the work.
3. 若英语是书名、片名、格言、剧名、报名、国名等的复数形式，其谓语动词通常用单数形式。如：“The Arabian Nights” is an interesting story-book.
4. 表数量的短语“one and a half”后接复数名词作主语时，其谓语动词可用单数形式(也可用复数。如：One and a half apples is (are) left on the table.
5. 算式中表示数目(字)的主语通常作单数看待，其谓语动词采用单数形式。如：Twelve plus eight is twenty. / Fifty-six divided by eight is seven.
6. 一些学科名词是以 –ics 结尾，如：mathematics， politics， physics 以及news， works等，都属于形式上是复数的名词，实际意义为单数名词，它们作主语时，其谓语动词要用单数形式。如：The paper works was built in 1990. / I think physics isn‘t easy to study.
7. trousers， glasses， clothes， shoes， 等词作主语时，谓语用复数，但如果这些名词前有a (the) pair of等量词修饰时，谓语动词用单数。如：My glasses are broken. / The pair of shoes under the bed is his.
8. “定冠词the + 形容词或分词”，表示某一类人时，动词用复数。