（1）My father will have a ____ holiday next month. He'll take me to Qingdao.
A. ten days B. ten days' C. ten-days D. ten day's(济南市中考)
(2) ——Dad, when will you be free? You agreed to go to the seaside with me four days ago. —I am sorry, Jean. But I think I will have a ____ holiday soon.
A. four-days B. four-day C. four days D. four day(河北省中考)
试题(1)的答案为 B(ten days'), 而试题(2)的答案却是 B(four-day)。两个答案为何不同?
当数词 + 名词作定语时,如果数词与名词之间加上一个连字符,则该名词应当使用单数,故试题(2)采用的结构是 a four-day holiday。此外,数词 + 时间名词复数的所有格也可以用作定语,故试题(1)采用的结构是 a ten days' holiday。这两个结构都是很常见的:
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10天的缺席
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4个小时的旅行
在数词 + 名词 + 形容词结构作定语时, 其中的名词也要用单数 (a ten-year-old girl), 见 year 。请做下面的英语试题:
Each of us has to write a ____ report every two weeks. A. two-hundred-word B. two-hundreds-word C. two-hundreds-words D. two-hundred-words(广州市中考)
[附注]严格说来,上面的试题都有失误之处。试题(1)的选项A(ten days)和试题(2)的选项C(four days)也是正确的用法,见week,hyphen,plural attributive nouns。