| 词组 | archive, archives |
| 释义 | archive, archives The singular and plural forms of archive have existed side by side since the word first came into the language in the 17th century. Montgomery & Stratton 1981 assures us that "an archives" is preferred by archivists. We cannot confirm or deny that statement, but our evidence does show greater use of the plural than the singular in the names of institutions. For instance: • From 1954 the National Archives has carried out training programmes for its serving archivists — Library Science Abstracts (London), 1956 • An act to establish a National Archives of the United States Govern ment— U. S. Code, 1948 In unofficial use, however, the plural archives more often than not is used with a plural verb: • ... until the Russian archives are opened —Times Literary Supp., 14 Nov. 1968 • The archives contain some of Jefferson's correspondence—American Guide Series: Virginia, 1941 • The archives in the European capitals were searched —Van Wyck Brooks, The Flowering of New England, 1815-1865, rev. ed., 1946 At the time the section of the OED containing archive was published (1885), the plural form had taken over in the sense of "a place housing documents," and preponderated in the sense of "a collection of documents." In more recent usage, however, the pendulum has begun to swing back, and the singular use is now about as common as the plural in both senses: • He has had access to the whole of Lady Astor's archive, including her draft of an autobiography — British Book News, December 1972 • Miss Carroll's reconverted farmhouse has become something of a Steinian archive —Michiko Kaku-tani, N.Y. Times, 1 Aug. 1979 Both singular and plural are in figurative use: • ... memorizing practically every line, thus making herself a living archive —Hedrick Smith, Saturday Rev., 24 Jan. 1976 • But we must have more than an intellectual desire, filed away in the archives of idea —Charles A. Lindbergh, Saturday Rev., 27 Feb. 1954 |
| 随便看 |
|
英语用法大全包含2888条英语用法指南，基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。