VOA慢速英语:Everyday Grammar: Do/Does You Understand Subject-Verb Agreement?

短语讲解：

1. This week we are going to talk about problems with subject-verb agreement.

talk about 讨论，谈论
例句：He went on to talk about his accident.
他接着谈到了他的意外事故。

2. But subject-verb agreement gets much more difficult, especially in sentences with complex subjects or when the subject is separated from its verb.

separated from 隔离
例句：Her husband only separated from his lady by one of trifling differences.
他们夫妻因为小事情不和，所以分居。

3. A longer gerund phrase is still singular, even if the phrase ends with a plural noun.

even if 虽然; 即使
例句：Even if we never fix it, we somehow survive.
即使我们从来不改正它，有时也没有问题。

4. Before the American Civil War in the 1860s, many people said, “The United States are,” instead of “The United States is”.

instead of （用…）代替…， （是…）而不是
例句：I decided to treat myself to a taxi, eg instead of walking.
我决定坐他一次计程车。

5. Slow down, step back and look at the whole sentence in context.

step back 退后; 后退
例句：The spectators were ordered to step back.
观众受令向后退。