| 词组 | whereabouts |
| 释义 | whereabouts The final -s in the noun whereabouts may look like a plural ending, but it isn't one. The noun is derived from the adverb whereabouts, and the -s is actually an adverbial suffix—one that also occurs in such words as hereabouts, thereabouts, and towards. The adverbial origins of that final -s have persuaded a few critics that the noun whereabouts should only be construed as singular, but the apparently plural form of the word seems to cry out for a plural verb. The suspect's whereabouts is unknown. The suspect's whereabouts are unknown. Which would you say? Our evidence suggests that you are more likely to say "are" than "is." Either way, you are conforming to standard usage: • ... his whereabouts was known only to his personal staff —Fortune, February 1954 • ... its exact whereabouts usually remains a secret guarded by hunters —Our Appalachia, ed. Laurel Shackelford & Bill Weinberg, 1977 • His whereabouts are kept secret —Manchester Guardian Weekly, 20 Nov. 1936 • Miss Watkins's whereabouts were established — Lewis Funke, N.Y. Times, 28 Jan. 1973 • ... its whereabouts remain elusive —Natalie Babbitt, N. Y. Times Book Rev., 8 July 1973 |
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