| 词组 | United States |
| 释义 | United States A question not often asked these days is whether United States takes a singular or a plural verb. Most of us probably have little reason to write a sentence in which United States is the subject of a verb that inflects for singular or plural. If we did, we might use U.S. instead: • The U.S. doesn't want to be embarrassed again — And More by Andy Rooney, 1982 But the question was much agitated around the turn of the century, when a change in usage became evident. It seems that older practice favored the plural—the U.S. Constitution was frequently cited by proponents of plural usage—but gradually, as the United States came to be thought of as a single entity, the singular verb came more and more into use. Many proponents of the singular verb appealed to patriotism, although this argument did not impress Ambrose Bierce: • Grammar has not a speaking acquaintance with politics, and patriotic pride is not schoolmaster to syntax —Bierce 1909 We have an interesting clipping from an undated and unidentified newspaper in which General John W. Foster, who was Secretary of State under Benjamin Harrison, replies to criticism of his use of the singular in his book A Century of American Diplomacy (published in 1900). According to Foster, Andrew Jackson was the first president to adopt the singular, and every president from Lincoln to McKinley regularly used it. Those usage commentators who mention the subject, from Utter 1916 to the present, agree that the singular verb is usual in this century but that the plural is also still used. One plural form still in use is the phrase "these United States," which Bremner 1980 wishes were confined to speeches at national political conventions. It can still be heard in political oratory, but even in political contexts the singular competes: • Every man in this United States —Harry S. Truman, quoted in Merle Miller, Plain Speaking, 1973 One or two commentators point out that United States has no adjective. A form United-Statesian exists (it is recorded in Webster's Third), but it is not in common use. The attributive United States (or U.S.) is what is generally used, or the adjective American is substituted. See also America, American. |
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