cattle 的用法

　　cattle是單數(shù)還是復數(shù)?英語可說cattles嗎?請看下面一題：

　　In fact, _________ one cause that leads to the problem.

　　A. cattle is B. cattle are C. cattles are D. the cattles are

　　此題容易誤選A，想當然地認為cattle是單數(shù)，并且空格有表單數(shù)的one，自然謂語動詞用is。其實，正確答案為B。cattle為集合名詞，盡管它不帶復數(shù)詞尾-s，卻永遠表示復數(shù)意義，若用作主語，謂語要用復數(shù)。又如：

　　For this many cattle were killed. 為此宰了不少牲畜。

　　The prisoners were herded like cattle. 囚犯像牲口一樣被趕到一起。

　　類似地，police，people，police，poultry等也具有同樣用法，即只有單數(shù)形式，但卻表示復數(shù)意義;用作主語時謂語通常也用復數(shù);不與 a 連用，但可與the連用。如：

　　The poultry have been fed. 家禽已經(jīng)喂過飼料了。

　　In Britain police do not usually carry guns. 在英國警察通常不帶槍。

　　It annoys me when people forget to say thank you. 遇到有人忘記道謝的時候，我就不痛快。