GMAT英语语法:量词及一些单复数问题详解。附相关错句改正

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名词是否可数

Countable modifiers,可数修饰语：many, not many, few, fewer, fewest, number of, fewer than, numerous, more numerous...

Uncountable modifiers,不可数修饰语：much, not much, little, less, least, amount, less than a certain amount of, great, greater...

Countable and uncountable modifiers,可数以及不可数修饰语: more, most, enough, all

常见错误：不要将less用在可数物体上

Wrong: 10 items or less 

Right: 10 items or fewer

Unit nouns,单位名词:

Countable: dollar, gallon

Uncountable: money, volume

 The word “NUMBER”:

"The number of" = 单数   The number of xxx is...      //  "The NUMBERS of" is always incorrect. number 必须写成单数

“A number of”   = 复数      A number of xxx are...

"One of..." 详解：

1,One of the X's that/who 复数

2,One of the X's 单数

3,Only one of the X's 单数

4.Only one of the X's that/who 复数

5,The only one of the X's that/who 单数

The SANAM pronouns: Some,Any,None,All,More/Most

单复数取决于 of 之后的单词的单复数：

Some of the money 单

Some of the cars 复

但，none/any of 有时要结合上下文分析

none of my friends 单

其他：

Each XXX 或 Every XXX and ZZZ 单

They each 复

Quantity phrases 量词短语:

The majority / The majority of    是否单复数需要结合上下文分析

 主语短语或从句总是单数：

Having good friends is...

Whatever they want to do is...

注意不要被倒装句迷惑：

Near those buildings sit a lonely house    //错误，应为sits ,主语为 a lonely house

实在不确定时可以倾向单数。

例句：红色为错误部分，绿色为正确部分。

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In 1979 lack of rain reduced India’s rice production to about 41 million tons,nearly 25 percent less than the 1978 harvest.

注：rice production is uncountable. Using less is correct.

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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.

注：

错误1，emphatic construction:It is X that does Y should be used only when there is a compelling reason to emphasize the doer of the action.In this sentence,the emphatic construction is used without good reason.   

错误2，Fixed costs did not agree with makes。 Fixed costs是复数

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.

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In 1983, using both ground-penetrating radar equipment—much of which they constructed themselves—and clues from…..

注：much of which correctly refer to Radar. // much of which 雷达的大部分组件

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A recent report from the Bureau of Justice states that although less than one out of every one hundred American people are in prison, more than three percent of Americans are either in prison, on parole, or on probation.

注：one out of every one hundred American people = singular  要准确的定位主语

one out of every thirty two Americans = singular

a fraction of a percent of the American population= singular

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.

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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.

注：much of …: singular                       much不可以修饰dioxins并且和后面的are不一致

much:  dioxins is contable noun  

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.

注：come : many of…  is plural   many正确修饰dioxins并且与后面的are保持一致

many: dioxins is countable

to which: modify claus can not end with a preposition

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The numbers of prizes won by Irish poet Seamus Heaney include the Nobel Prize in Literature and two Whitbread Book of the Year awards.

注：The numbers of: wrong, only the number of or a number of are correct, here we need a number of to indicate that we are talking about some unspecified number of prizes.   这正是前面说的 The numbers of 错误的问题

Irish poet Seamus Heaney has won a number of prizes for his work, including the Nobel Prize in Literature and two Whitbread Book of the Year awards.

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For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economy of Britain, France, and Germany…

For the last five years the Dutch economy has grown faster than the economies of Britain, France, and Germany, and the unemployment rate has remained well below that of the other three countries.

注：要比较的是各国经济

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