[求助]OG11DT-41

yeehang

OG11测试题部分，语法题第41题，题目最后面的than was...为什么用“was”，而不用“were”？than后面省略的成分不是the development...the use... and the standardization吗？复合主语的谓语动词为什么用单数呢？

AlienX

please post the full question

yeehang

Excavators at the Indus Valley site of Harappa in eastern Pakistan say the discovery of inscribed shards dating to circa 2800-2600 BC indicates that the development of a Harappan writing system,the use of inscribed seals impressed into clay for marking ownership,and the standardization of weights for trade or taxation occurred many decades,if not centuries, earlier than was previously believed.

正确答案已经代入原文中。

AlienX

hmm...not sure.
X, Y and Y occurred many decades eariler than (the date) was previously believed.
可能是固定用法.
OG上有一些固定用法:
....than ever before.
....than previously thought.
anyone?

endlessfrenz

关键是应该弄清楚到底WAS 修饰的什么,是这三个并列的名词呢,还是楼上所说的修饰的是一个DATA, 还是前面的DISCOVERY?

yeehang

从that到句子结束，应该都是indicate的宾语，所以was不可能修饰指向discovery。说was修饰一个虚拟的date，从逻辑上考虑的话还是蛮有道理的，earlier是不是已经暗示了比较的对象就是“the date”？