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Hi, welcome again to www. engvid. com.I'm Adam.
嗨，欢迎再次来到www. engvid. com.我是 Adam.
I have another great lesson for you today based on a request...a few requests actually from our www. engvid. com site.
今天根据你们的要求…其实是根据我们www. engvid. com网站上的一些请求，为大家准备了一节很棒的课程。
Today we're going to look at collective nouns.An example of a collective noun: "staff", "police", "audience", "family".
今天我们要来讲的是集合名词。举个集合名词的例子："staff"，"police"，"audience"，"family"。
These are nouns that might include individual members or be looked at as a whole unit.
这些名词可以包括独立的个体成员也可以被看做一个整体。
Okay? So: "staff" means the total group of employees or it could mean each individual employee.
对吧？所以："staff" 意思是全部职员的整体也可以是指每一个独立的职员。
So, now you're thinking: "Okay, well, good. What's the problem?"
那么，现在你会想：“嗯，好，不错。有什么问题？”
The problem is: what verb do you use with these nouns?
问题是：你要用什么动词来搭配这些名词？
Do you use a singular verb or do you use a plural verb? Okay?
你是用单数动词还是用复数动词？
So, for example: do you say: "The staff was invited to the BBQ." or do you say: "The staff were invited to the BBQ."?
那么，例如：你是说："The staff was invited to the BBQ." 还是说："The staff were invited to the BBQ."？
I'm afraid I have to tell you there's actually no rule that decides this.
我恐怕得告诉你这里没有明确的法则来规定。
What decides this is you.What do you want to say?What is your intention?
决定这个的是你。你想说什么？你的意向是什么？
Do you want to talk about the individuals or do you want to talk about the group?
你想谈论个体还是想谈论整体？
So, for example, look at this sentence: "My staff consists of young and old alike."
举个例子，看这个句子：“我的员工既有年轻人也有年长者。”
"Alike" is basically like "both", both young and old.Now, why am I using the singular?
"Alike" 类似于 "both"，既有年轻人也有年长者。那么，我为什么用单数呢？
Because here, I'm talking about my entire staff, my whole collection of employees. Right?
因为这里，我想说的是我员工这个整体，我全部员工的集合。对吧？
So I'm probably going to use the singular because I'm talking about the one unit.
所以我可能会用动词单数，因为我在谈论的是一个整体。
Here, I could say both; I could say: "My staff", my entire unit of employees or I could talk about all the individual people who work for me were invited to the BBQ.
这里，我两种方式都可以说；我可以说：“我的员工”，我所有员工的整体或者我可以说所有为我工作的个人都被邀请来野外烧烤。
So, again, it's more about what you want to intend...What you want to say, what you intend.
那么再说一次，这更多取决于你的意图是什么…你想要说什么，你的打算是什么。
Sorry, you don't want to intend anything. Okay?Here's another example: "My family are going to be citizens soon."
抱歉，你没有任何打算。对吧？这有另一个例子：“我的家人很快要成为公民了。”
"My family was invited to a wedding."I have a plural, I have the singular; it depends what you want to say.
“我们家被邀请参加婚礼。”我用了一个单复数动词，又用了一个单数动词；它取决于你想要说什么。
"My family" - means all the members of my family - "are going to be citizens soon."
“我的家人” — 指的是所有我的家庭成员—“很快要成为公民了。”
It makes a bit more sense when you also have the plural here, "are" and "citizens".
当你在这里也有复数时，意思会更清楚些，"are" 和 "citizens"。
It sounds a little bit more natural."My family was invited to the wedding."
这样听起来更自然一些。“我们家被邀请参加婚礼。”
The Smiths, we...My family is the Smiths, so when the invitation came, the Smiths are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Jack and Jill who last week went up the hill.
史密斯家，我们…我们家是史密斯家，所以当邀请送到时，史密斯家被诚挚邀请参加 Jack 和 Jill 的婚礼，他们上山去打水。
I'm not sure if you know this little poem.Anyway, so the same thing goes for "police", "audience", "couple", "faculty".
我不确定你是否知道这首小童谣。总之，对于 "police"，"audience"，"couple"，"faculty" 都是一样的。
Lots of collective nouns.Depends what you want to say.
还有众多集合名词。取决于你想要说什么。
Now, usually...And keep in mind: this is also difficult for native English speakers to decide which one.
那么，通常…记住：决定用哪一个动词对于英语母语者也是困难的。
Keep in mind that usually in the U.S. and Canada, most people will automatically choose the singular: "The staff is", "The police is", again, depending on the situation.
记住通常在美国和加拿大，大多数人会自动选择单数动词："The staff is"，"The police is"，再说一次，取决于具体情况。
In the U.K. , they will naturally or usually go for the plural: "The staff are", "The police are".
在英国，人们通常会自然而然的选择复数动词 "The staff are"，"The police are"。
Now, again, let's look at: "police".I'll give you two examples.Somebody was bothering my neighbour. Okay?
那么，我们再来看看："police"。我会给你举两个例子。有人在骚扰我的邻居。对吧？
And like they were like making noise.My neighbour asked the person to leave.
他们好像在吵闹。我的邻居要求某人离开。
The person wouldn't leave, so she called the police.They - the police - they came and removed this person.
某人没有离开，所以她报警了。他们 - 警察 - 他们来了带走了某人。
But, I have to be very careful driving these days because the police is cracking down on texters; people who drive and text.
但是，这些天我必须非常小心驾驶，因为警察正在制裁“拇指族”，那些边开车边发短信的人。
I don't do that, but I've seen them around. Right?So this...You have to be careful which meaning you want to use.
我没那么做，但我在附近看到过。对吧？所以这是…你必须谨慎注意你想用哪个例子。
Sometimes it'll be very natural, like I would only use the singular here because I'm talking about the whole unit.
有时它会很自然，像我只会在这里使用单数动词，因为我在谈论一个整体。
Here, both okay.Do you want to talk about the individuals?Do you want to talk about the group, the whole group?
这里，两个都可以。你想要谈论个体？你想要谈论整体，全部的整体？
Now, if you want to be specific, if you very clearly want to show that you're talking about the individuals, add a word: "staff members", "family members", "police officers".
现在，如果你想要具体的，如果你非常清楚地想要表达你谈论的是个体，加一个单词："staff members"，"family members"，"police officers"。
If you add these words that show the individuals, you will have absolutely no problem.
如果你加上这些词，表达的就是个体，这样肯定没有问题了。
If I say: "staff members", obviously the verb will be plural because this is now the main subject.
如果你说："staff members"，很明显动词应该是复数，因为现在这才是主语。
And "staff" becomes the adjective, "family" becomes the adjective. Okay?
而 "staff" 则变成了形容词，"family" 也变成了形容词。对吧？
If I say: "police officers", "police" becomes the adjective, this is my subject, and I'm going to use a plural verb.
如果我说："police officers"，"police" 就是形容词，这是我的主语，我会用复数动词。
If I want to say one person, one police officer, then of course I'm going to be talking...using the singular. Okay?
如果我想对一个人说，一个警官，那么我要谈论的是…用单数动词。对吧？
So, again, very straight forward.Whatever you intend to do, that's what will help you choose the verb.
那么，再说一次，非常直截了当。不管你的意图是什么，它会帮你选择动词。
But if you're not sure, go to: www. engvid. com.There's a quiz there where you can get a little bit more practice.
如果你还是不确定，登录：www. engvid. com.那里有一个小测试，你可以更多地练习一下。
And, of course, visit my YouTube site, subscribe if you like.And I'll see you again real soon.
当然，如果你乐意的话，登录我的 YouTub小站，关注我。我们很快会再见的。
