수 일치는 병치 구조 (parallel structure)와 불가산, 가산 명사와 여러모로 관계가 있는 내용이다. 따라서, TOEFL을 공부할 때, 이 세 부분을 집중적으로 공부하면, 문법 분야의 거의 절반을 한 거나 다름없다고 자부한다. 수 일치란? 주어와 동사 사이에 일어나는 숫자상의 일치를 나타낸다. 즉, 주어가 단수이면 단수 동사를, 주어가 복수일 때는 복수 동사를 받는다. 하지만, 다음의 예외가 있으니 꼭, 익혀 두기 바란다.

(주의) 위의 표에 있는 단어 그 자체로서는 단수, 복수를 나타내지 않고, of 다음에 복수 명사가 오면 복수 동사를, of 다음에 단수, 물질, 추상명사 등이 오면 단수 동사를 쓴다.

either 나 neither가 주어로 쓰이면 반드시 단수 동사를 쓴다.(매우중요함)

(주 의) 주어는 one이므로 당연히 단수 동사가 와야 한다.( 매우 중요함).

<실전 문제>

1. Industry (A)utilize the gaseous (B)element xenon when (C)developing specialized flash lights and (D)other powerful lamps.

2. Numerous (A)professional (B)associations have educational (C)program for their (D)members.

3. The (A)goals of managing timber resources is (B)to achieve an (C)approximate balance (D)between the growth of new wood and the size of the annual harvest.

4. The United States (A)celebrate the (B)birth of (C)its independence (D)every Forth of July.

5. The (A)term "Punchinello" (B)refer to a clown (C)in Italian (D)puppet shows.

6. (A)Many American novelists, (B)such as Gore Vidal, (C)resides in (D)other countries.

7. (A)It is (B)the dream of every (C)mountaineers to climb the world's (D)highest peak.

8. The Kerma (A)civilization was (B)some of the (C)earliest indigenous African (D)tribal groups.

9. Scientists (A)have identified several hundred subatomical (B)particle (C)held together (D)by a nuclear force.

10. The (A)oceans contain many (B)forms of life that (C)has not (D)yet been discovered.

11. (A)One out of (B)every eight ballons (C)in the world (D)are launched at Albuquerque, New Mexico.

12. Sprinkler (A)system have proven to be (B)the most effective (C)means of (D)fighting hotel fires.

13. (A)To stay warm in cold weather, cold-blooded animals must expose (B)itself to (C)a source of warmth such as (D)direct sunlight.

14. Notorious as a (A)host for wheat rust, the barberry (B)bush has been (C)banned from many (D)area.

15. The structure (A)or behavior! (B)of many protozoans are (C)amazingly complex for single-celled (D)animals.

16. Some (A)plant produce irritating poisons that can (B)affect a person (C)even if he or she (D)merely brushes against them.

17. (A)Most tree frogs (B)change color to (C)harmonize with (D)its background.