英语讲义【45】“One of...”中的复数名词

　　We are a licensed Real Estate Agency and one of the fastest growing housing agency in Singapore.

　　上面这句房地产广告中的话，望文生义，清楚易解，只可惜犯了语法上的一个大忌，就是把复数名词变成单数：agenciesagency.

　　单数也可以，只是后半部的句子要作调整：and the fastest growing housing agency in Singapore.

　　调整后的句子避免了语法错误，但是句子的意思有些改变，就是从其中一个代理商变成唯一的代理商。最好还是从根本的语法错误着手，就是把one of后头的 agency 改为 agencies.这种错误改正，在学生英文作文里，是司空见惯的事，不足为奇的。例如：

　　① South Korea is one of the Asian country that used to have student mobs.（应改为countries）

　　② One of the most obvious disadvantage is that the relationship between the parents and the children is not intimate.（应改为disadvantages）

　　从这样的改正中可以看到在one of这样的句式中，跟着出现的名词必须是可数复数名词（plural countable nouns）如： countries, friends, shops, goats 等，而不是可数单数名词如： country, friend, shop, goat 或不可数名词（uncountable nouns ）, 如：love, oil, knowledge, information 等。因此，除了上面 ①和②句子是错的之外，③和④也不对：

　　③ One of the equipments was damaged.

　　④ I have special liking for one of the new furnitures.

　　③和④的错误来自不可数名词 equipments 和 furnitures，因为这类名词是不可有复数的。

　　其次，必须注意的是one of这样的句式当主语时，后面的动词如果是简单现在时态（simple present tense）的话，一定要跟 one 搭配；one 既然是单数，动词当然也是单数，如：

　　⑤ One of the fastest growing housing agencies in Singapore is none other than New Century Real Estate Agency.

　　⑥ One of the effective ways of enriching English vocabulary is to use the vocabulary learnt.

　　⑦ One of the reasons for bad reading and writing seems to be that people today pay more attention to listening and seeing than reading and writing.

　　这样的一致性也适用于接系动词（linking verb）的简单过去时态（simple past tense） was，如：

　　⑧ One of the proposals at the meeting yesterday was rejected.

　　⑨ One of the questions Tom raised at the news conference was irrelevant to the matters under discussion.