涉及主谓一致的倒装

有这样一道题:

In the letter __________ these words，“I love you”.

A. was                     B. were                     C. saw                  D. found

此题应选B。选项A，C，D都有可能被误选。

对于此题，考生首先要弄清它是一个倒装句，其正常词序为：These words "I love you" were in the letter. 为了结构紧凑和平衡，才使用此倒装句式。又如：

轮船上有2000余人。

正：On the ship were more than 2000 people.

正：More than 2000 people were on the ship.

值得注意的是，以上这类倒装句，还涉及主谓一致问题：

墙后是一些高树子。

正：Behind the wall are some tall trees.

误：Behind the wall is some tall trees.

老师四周围着一些年轻的学生。

正：Around the teacher were some young students.

误：Around the teacher was some young students.

这两座山之间有一个小村庄。

正：Between the two hills was a small village.

误：Between the two hills were a small village.

盒子里有一些小球。

正：In the box are some small balls.

误：In the box is some small balls.

这类句子，有的考生之所出错，是因为他们把句首的介词短语看作主语，从而把谓语与介词短语中的名词保持一致。

关于这个问题，有个比较简单的方法可以判定：即在英语中介词短语通常不能作主语，假若一个句子的主语位置是一个介词短语，考生应考虑是否是一个倒装句。