(2014·湖南省部分重点中学3月联考)Many a student________selected to take part in the English competition，and more

(2014·湖南省部分重点中学3月联考)Many a student________selected to take part in the English competition，and more than one teacher________them on speaking and writing. A. was；has coached B. were；have coached C. was；have coached D. were；has coached

这道题考查主谓一致中的语法一致原则。当主语被 "many a" 或 "more than one" 修饰时，尽管语义上表示复数概念，但语法形式上需视为单数，谓语动词也应使用单数形式。

具体来看，前半句 "Many a student" 中，"many a + 单数名词" 结构要求谓语用单数，因此第一空应填 "was"；后半句 "more than one teacher" 同样遵循这一规则，"more than one + 单数名词" 作主语时谓语动词用单数，故第二空填 "has coached"。

答案：A. was；has coached

这种"形单意复"的语法现象，体现了英语主谓一致中"语法一致优先于意义一致"的特点。你还能想到其他类似 "many a" 这样需要特别注意的主谓一致结构吗？比如 "a number of" 与 "the number of" 的区别。