问英语｜英语常见问题解答

percent¹

问

Ninety percent of the labor force in the United States is going to be white collar.

请问这里用 is 对吗？我认为应改为 are。

答

当单个词 per cent 或 percent of + 名词充当主语时, 谓语动词是采用单数还是采用复数, 完全取决于有关名词的单复数形式。ninety percent of the labor force 所涉及的名词 the labor force 是单数, 因此上句中的 is going to 是正确的。相反, 当涉及的名词是复数时, 则必须采用复数动词:

Five(one) per cent of the samples were substandard. 百分之五(一)的样品不符合

标准。

Ten per cent of the pupils are absent today. 今天有百分之十的学生缺席。请做下面的英语试题：
More and more scientists seem persuaded that 80 percent or more of all cancers is A B C inflicted upon man by himself. (TOEFL) D
It has been estimated that only 21 percent of the world's land surface are cultivatable and A B C that only 7.6 percent is actually under cultivation. (TOEFL)
Approximately fifty percent of the package utilized in the United States are for foods and beverages. (TOEFL)

percent²

问

At present about 38% of the Chinese population smoke. 根据您在 percent $^{1}$ 条中所讲的原则, 这里的谓语动词 smoke 应改为 smokes, 因为 population 在这里是个不可数名词。

答

这里涉及到 population 的用法问题。当它指“人口”（一个国家或地区的居民数目）时，它是不可数名词，其谓语动词要用单数：

What was the population of Europe in 1990? 欧洲 1990 年的人口是多少?
The population of (=number of people living in) Cairo in 1992 was approximately 650000. 1992 年开罗的人口大约为 650 万。但是，当 population 指一个国家或地区的全体居民 (the people living in a country or an area) 时，虽然仍是不可数名词，但其谓语动词既可用单数，亦可用复数，与百分数连用时，亦是如此：
During the Second World War the population was/were issued with gas masks. 在第二次世界大战期间全体居民都分到了防毒面具。
There 50 per cent or more of the population is/are illiterate. 那里有 $50\%$ 或 $50\%$ 以上的居民是文盲。据此,上句中的 smoke 可以看作是正确的,当然,也可以用 smokes,见 population $^{1}$ 。

percent²

, population $^{1}$ 。

percent³

问

Eighty percent of the population of China ____ farmers.

A. are B. has C. is D. have

我们班同学对于这道题的答案发生了争论。有的说应当选A，有的则说应当选C。

答

出这样的试题,是不恰当的。不应当引导学生去抠这样的试题。实际上,选 A 和选 C 都是正确的。在英语原著中既可见到用动词单数的实例,也可见到用动词复数的实例。见