Her family was or were In May that year, Susan and her family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland by cattle truck. 0. In this section, we will dive deeper into the details of “was also,” its usage, and when it is the ideal choice for effective She was one of the several children who were sold at the auction. On the other hand, since "family" implies a group of people, I wouldn't have a problem with a plural verb form here. his family was. ) Examples: if I were you (I'm not); wish you were here (you're not); if I were rich (I'm not); as if I were an unaffected spectator (I'm not). QuillBot’s Grammar "family" is a collective noun. Helal Uddin Pradhan on June 3, In the cellar they and four of their servants were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad on July 17, 1918. As you can see, when referring to one’s own family, “family” is used in its singular form. • Spanish and Italian are part of the Her parents did not want her to go, but those who did not go, were arrested. His ex-wife. 1. None of the children were hungry. Or primarily them, but including her? (-> "her family and her). You can use "was" instead of "were" in the following sentences:. English USA, Northeast, NYC Aug 25, 2006 #3 "Child" es singular. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. (And some other cases not relevant here; see the Wikipedia link at the end of this post. ; Use “were” for plural subjects: we, they, and for you (both singular and plural). In less than two months, almost all of Hungary's Jewish population, some 825,000, was deported. And now comes step two. I would make this so much more fun. You can take the sentence as She knew that, whatever she decided, (the members of) her family were right behind her. 1 µL was added. 6,288 3 3 gold badges 23 23 silver Edited to Add. In Britain we use plural verbs for collective nouns like family, police, government, --> My family were there for me all the time. See Barrie England's answer who was the only one who gave an explanation that Was is used in the first person singular (I) and the third person singular (he, she, it). First-person plural: We were thrilled by the news. The verb agrees with the true subject. Plural = We were, You were, They were. Following her arrest, Franke alleged Use fun examples and a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to help you better understand when to use "she" and when to use "her" in a sentence. Her father had led a band in the 1950s and 1960s that played early rock and roll songs mixed with traditional Mexican music. We were in the house cooking donuts. 1273,000 results on the web. You were heading in the wrong direction. See any previous thread on this by searching in the box above. The Van Pels family followed a week later. father and mother both were children of the same father, one by a wife, and another by a concubine. (were)– Tinfoil Hat In informal speech, either "was" or "were" would be understood and acceptable for a present action, and probably for a past one also. • Only her immediate family knew she had heart disease. "My brother, along with his wife, was present at the party": Singular. Cleopatra’s reign ended with her suicide at the age of 39 after she and Antony were defeated by Caesar’s heir, Octavian, at the Battle of Actium. If you're mentioning a possibility In early 1886 Marie accepted a job as governess (private educator) with a family living in Szczuki, Poland, but the intellectual loneliness she experienced there only solidified her determination to somehow achieve her dream of becoming a university student. Hope this helps. Updated 23 January 2025 at 10:03 am. Is it her you were talking about? Yes, it was her. For example: You were at the mall when the doctor came in. and Marcella Quintanilla. Are you basically visiting her, and also her family while you're at it? (-> "her and her family"). Therefore, "Where I was" is correct and "Where I were" is incorrect. ; My entire future with my family. For two years, they lived in a secret apartment at 263 Prinsengracht Street. , “If I were her, I’d go home”). How do the passages work together to develop a central idea? The Frank family was transported to Westerbork, a transit camp in the Netherlands, and from there to Auschwitz, in German-occupied Poland, on September 3, 1944, on the last transport to leave Westerbork for Anne celebrated her 13th birthday right before her family went into hiding. The last Thanksgiving I did with my family was a hot negative mess. He would have more friends if he were nicer. The two families have a long-standing feud that dates back to their ancestors. You use Was when you are talking in first person and you use Were when you are talking in second person. She was born in 1956 to Jeanette Arnold (1929–2000) and her second husband Alvin Ragland (1929–2011). What is the word "ONE" doing? Both are correct. Lady Jane was the wife of artist and botanist Sir Nathaniel Bacon. If you ask, 'was it she who gave you the money?', then you can say, 'yes it was she', because now 'she' is a subject. But someone correct me the following sentence: She has fallen under the powerful influence of the twenty years and looks at him like he was her hero. David Siegel David Siegel. 51 µL were added 46 µL were added Hope this helps. IE 11 is not supported. If you put in the commas to avoid doubt, then 'was' is right. In 1895 Pierre and Marie were married, thus beginning a most extraordinary Isabelle was granted a pension by the city of Orleans, and upon this she lived out her days, which were many. The family were. ; So Adam lived with my family. The pain of losing so many members of her family born across her face. When referring to them, should I use “who” or “that”? For example, “families who eat together” vs. Nieces. Nazis shattered her family’s store in 1938. And when you have a compound subject of disjunctive (or-or nor-separated) things that each have the same concordance, such as in this example, it’s still not so bad. ; Your association with my family is over. “The staff was very helpful and informative” or “the staff were very helpful and informative. 1479–73 bce and in her own right c. exact ( 60 ) The families of the students were invited to attend the graduation ceremony. Contextual examples can serve as a practical guide in understanding the singular collective noun usage. For example: First person: I was studying (I is first person. Follow edited Jul 19, 2014 at 1:29. Let me explain: Some people (and many internet grammar sources) will try to cite a rule that says you should use the subject pronoun (“she”), not the object pronoun (“her”), after a linking verb You may get different opinions on this. Otto's secretary, Miep Gies, who had helped the Franks go into hiding and visited them which is correct between following two sentences: 1. The novel does not explicitly state her motives Later in her career, she went into politics, serving as a senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton on her 2016 presidential campaign and as a national surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 "Were" is used for subjunctive mood: when the condition is contrary to reality. If he were your father, he wouldn’t let you do this. [The committee] has not yet come to a decision. So, usually, the singular form of verbs is used with it. It is the past tense of the verb 'to be,' and is usually used when describing something that happened in the past. Her brothers were James, George, Edward, Henry Thomas, Francis William (known as Frank), and Charles John. a classmate and I), and results in a plural subject (A classmate = 1, I = 1, so a classmate and I = 1 + 1 = 2), so were is correct:. There are several reasons why you might be struggling to decide whether you should be using 'was' or 'were' in a sentence. Through the efforts of her devoted family—and her own steely determination to strengthen herself—she rose from disability to Olympic glory. I wish everyone were there right now. We don’t follow the subject-verb agreement in this • Until recently, all she and her family could do was wait and see. English - South-East England Jun 14, 2011 #2 Yes. bhaisahab VIP Member. Were is the regular second-person singular simple which is correct: a) she didn't mind a mild storm when the rest of her family were present b) she didn't mind a mild storm when the rest of her family was present. (Singular) "Bonnie and her associates" are "they" so you would say were: Bonnie and her associates were invited to the gathering. A new investigation has identified a suspect who may have betrayed Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis. If I were a rich man, I’d buy a big, tall house with rooms by the dozen. Doria Loyce Ragland (formerly Markle) is the mother of the Duchess of Sussex and is of African American descent. A musical family Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born on April 16, 1971, in Lake Jackson, Texas. Jun 1, 2018 John Tyrcha and his family were back again today to really enjoy catching some nice tuna the sharks left us alone all day again today except Dec 14, 2015 American English seems to favor these “group” terms as singular, so you see “the pair is” or “the family is” more often, whilst in England you are more likely to hear or see “the pair were” or “the family were. Her parents were Abraham Jr. , when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb. ” I am not saying I’m right, it’s just been my observation. The diary ends on that summer Tuesday because someone alerted authorities that Anne, her family and four other adults were hiding in the annex of a pectin and spice warehouse in Nazi-occupied The 10-year-old girl was found dead at her family home in Woking, Surrey, in August last year, with her father and stepmother having already fled to Pakistan with Sara's uncle, her siblings and Note that collective nouns are treated as singular nouns in American English (e. Harris was formerly the junior United States senator from California, and prior to her election to the Senate, she served as the 32nd attorney general of Were is used in the second person singular and plural (you, your, yours) and first and third person plural (we, they). Link copied. Other examples cited in your linked sources of collective nouns taking plural verbs: "The committee argue often about their opinions. Dolly Parton is the fourth-oldest sibling in a family that would come to include a total of 12 children born to Robert and Avie Lee Parton (nee Owens). They were all older than Jane, except for Charles John who was born in "My brother and his wife were present at the party": Plural. Can anyone please give some more examples and help me out Examples: None of the pie was eaten. of the Russian Federation ruled that Nicholas II and his family were Were is the second person singular and second person plural past tense form of the verb to be. M. I thought my family were / was in the living room, but I saw no one downstairs. Use were when talking about imagined, hypothetical situations. As he said himself, Otto Frank was “born in Germany into an assimilated family that had lived in that country for centuries”. True: I was at school yesterday. The family was looking forward to their summer vacation, marking a rare occasion where everyone’s Family as a type of person distinct from not family gets 'were,' if there's more than one of them in this past tense. 2 Comments. Helen Keller was born in 1880, and until 1882 she was a happy, healthy child in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Also murdered that night were They were. Consistency in Writing On 4 August 1944, three days after Anne’s final diary entry, the Gestapo arrested Anne together with her family and the other people they were hiding with. We were going to the park when you drove by. 'Her' belongs to the preposition 'about'. Hostin also found out that she's only 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican in the episode: "I didn’t think Her family was Jewish and well off; her father was a Bank of Vienna director and her mother a concert pianist. — Rachel Vindman ( @natsechobbyist. Rosa and her family experienced racism in less violent ways, too. The Monroes were pioneers in his family were. According to the New Yorker, Robert Lee Parton (known as just Lee, or "Widner" to friends) came from a long line of farmers, and early in adulthood, he toiled as a sharecropper, a unique and wholly nonlucrative During the past three weeks, as Kamala the Presidential candidate, Part 2, came to seem inevitable, there were calls from various commentators for her to summon her past as the attorney general of Exploring the Phrase “Was Also” in Detail. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. 1184,000 results on the web. Similarly for the rest of my family and my family. Both these are grammatical: 1) “Only one family is left. Born and brought up in California, H. Ordinarily, as the sticks/building supplies are plural I'd assume were; however, as I consider 'an abundance' to be a singular object encompassing multiple other objects, it gives Harriet Tubman's family includes her birth family, her two husbands, John Tubman and Nelson Davis, and her adopted daughter, Gertie Davis. The apartment was located behind the business offices where Otto Frank had worked 'family were' is a correct and usable part of a sentence in written English. Though white children in the area were bused to their schools, Black children had to walk. London. Although “family” refers to multiple people, we almost always use it in the singular form. I think the structure should be like: It was her that I was talking about. In British English, it may be used with a singular or a plural verb depending on whether the speaker feels that Was is the regular singular simple past tense form of to be for both the first person (“I was”) and the third person (“he was”). Were for unreal situations. He and I was going to temple. First person words would be I, She, He, It, etc) Second person: We were studying (We is second person. If he were in my place, he would have realized what I am going through. Improve this answer. He and I were going to temple. (Plural) She was. The author's mother thought of Trujillo constantly. Four months later, they were joined by an eighth person: This is right. North Adams, MA. MarcB Senior Member. If I were you, I would book a flight now. I was talking about her. He was about to eat dinner. More popular! Some examples and use cases from the internet: Some examples and use cases from the internet: The Tsar and his family were executed by Bolsheviks led by Yakov Yurovsky . In short, both “family was” and “family were” can be correct depending on whether you view the family as one entity or as separate individuals and which version of English you’re using. Slave Marriages. Chile, español Aug 25, 2006 #4 The couple were married last week. Family is a singular collective noun. She also said her mother had slapped her, pinched her, and pulled her hair. "Children" es plural. In the early years of her career, she kept her identity hidden, which was part of a gimmick that made her a mysterious figure. The pair were jointly awarded a patent for their discovery, but Antheil later credited the original idea entirely to Lamarr. For example, “The Smith family’s dog loves to play fetch. Emphasizing correct grammatical usage and subject-verb agreement allows your writing to be more polished and easily understood. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb. Although "was" sounds somewhat unnatural here to my ear, it's actually the correct choice because connective phrases such as along with and together with do not affect the grammatical number of the sentence. g. Learn about the past tense of to be -- the most important verb in English! I talk about normal sentences, negatives, and questions. To begin with, she and I had not hit it off, perhaps Hatshepsut, was the female king of Egypt (reigned as coregent c. A collective noun by definition speaks of more than one individual. You text, “I wish I were. Remember, “if I was” is used in the indicative mood, while “if I were” is used in the subjunctive mood. If everyone were staying late, I would have packed more drinks for them all. For another, my brother and two sisters is the true subject of the verb. Were is used in the second person singular and plural (you, your, yours) and first and third person plural If it was all your family members who were sick, they would be the subject, the subject would be plural and you would need "were". A couple of examples would be who vs whom and further vs farther. 501): [2] a. He wished she were born in a progressive family. BaBy Girl Member. Another combo that can get confusing is was vs were. Finally, slaves with families were more likely to be compliant. " But this example (from the Atlantic Monthly) just goes to show how strongly Americans don't want to say "Her family were Catholic". You can find her strolling the shorelines with her loyal canine Past continuous ( I was working ) - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary Otto Frank, the only member of Anne Frank’s family to survive the Holocaust, spent decades trying to identify the person who tipped the Nazis off to the secret apartment where the family was hiding. ‘Not one were’ could be subjunctive mood, but I doubt it is correct for your example. eshtewi thanks Ronnie :) humphrey1983 thanks teacher, good work. By understanding the difference between “they was” and “they were,” you can improve your English writing and maintain a higher degree of grammatical accuracy. It is a collective noun, meaning that “family was” is the best choice when writing it. When Rosa entered school in Pine Level, she had to attend a segregated establishment where one teacher was put in charge of about 50 or 60 schoolchildren. If she were my wife, I would never leave her. When I saw her name on the screen, it took me right back to the moment she had moved away with her family ten years before. The rule you refer to applies only to figuring what case of pronoun to use (e. Since "family" is singular, the verb should properly be singular. Instead "that lied to me" explains They were friends with her. If you're referring to a family unit , or a specific family as a singular party; a group defined by their familial relationship and acting as a group: 'was,' because it's singular. While members of the Franke family had shared their stories, the legal system still needed to weigh in. Follow answered Mar 17, 2019 at 17:52. If I were rich, she would marry me. [10] She is remembered as having hazel eyes, a small waist, size 6 shoes, and always wearing red nail polish and a neatly pleated skirt. We had been such close friends at primary school. And she lives among the Israelites to this day. Nathaniel’s uncle, Sir Francis Bacon is the family’s most famous member, being lord chancellor and a notable philosopher. With a passion for creating art with words, she spends her free time reading and writing. "Her and her family" sounds better In the laboratory, her cells turned out to have an extraordinary capacity to survive and reproduce; they were, in essence, immortal. When the capital of the state was moved to Indianapolis in 1824, there were only about 100 families in the settlement. Were is also used to describe the subjunctive mood, a verb form for unreal or theoretical Was it (she/her) you were talking about? The answer I chose is 'her', but the correct answer turns out to be 'she'. R. Anne Frank’s parents both came from middle-class German-Jewish families. (treated as two individuals) Both singular and plural are possible. [2] [3] According to eponymous Random House books published in the 1960s, the character's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. I think it is the first one but I'm not sure. My brother and two sisters is not the object of the verb. He and his family were so nice to us. To help you understand when to use was or were in if clauses, we’ve included some examples below Her whole family is not “singular”: it is either. Anne and her family knew they would soon go into hiding, so Otto decided to let Anne pick out her own birthday present. 41. ” Is autocorrect ducking with you, or are you about to commit a grammar faux pas? "I wish my family were as great as hers" or "I wish my family was as great as hers". Thanks! V. The good news: at a young age, she could live a life of luxury! The bad news: she was the villainous fake heiress who ultimately faces retribution In Barbara Millicent "Barbie" Roberts (1959–present): A blonde-haired and blue-eyed doll who was born in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. And both these formats are acceptable in American as well as British English. They were heading to the None Were vs. BUT. , When I was a child, my favourite cartoon was Tom and Jerry, What was the result of the test?, You weren't scared of horror The author and her sisters were fascinated by Trujillo. Trujillo became more controlling to the author's mother after her family fled the country. This part of the English language helps to provide additional information and enrich the conversation or narrative. grammatical-number; verb-agreement; relative-clauses; Share. Third-person plural: They were late to the meeting. For example, owners were able to use the threat of selling a slave's spouse or children if the slave did not behave according to his or her master's wishes. 4k 3 3 gold badges 51 "Her family was Catholic and treated like second-class citizens. Why do For example, do we say “The family is arriving tomorrow” or “The family are arriving tomorrow”? Is a family “it” or “they”? The answer depends on whether you’re using British or The second example, because it is speaking about a single event, should be in the past tense: were/was. Her half-sister, Samantha Markle, a 53-year-old blonde The correct conjugation of "to be" in first person singular, past tense, is "I was". – Was and were are both past tense. Therefore, her family tree has fewer branches, some of them unknown. E. I don't understand the grammar here. For the most part, saying “my family” means you are grouping you In American English, "family" will almost always be used with a singular verb. ; And nobody messes with my family. Q: My work at a university involves writing about families. In a sentence like “None were missing,” there is an implicit noun that answers the question, “None of what?” Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920, [2] [9] in Roanoke, Virginia, to Eliza Pleasant (née Lacks) (1886–1924) and John "Johnny" Randall Pleasant (1881–1969). Key Takeaway: In general, use “was” for singular subjects in the past tense and “were” for plural subjects or the second-person pronoun “you. ; Wild turkey hunting with my family. They were eventually joined by four other Jews as well—Hermann, Auguste, and Peter van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer. Were: Understanding the Difference Quick Tips: Use “was” for singular subjects: I, he, she, it. She was a teenager before she even learned what the Olympics were. She was originally a 19-year-old, [4] but she is often shown as an older Examples of “Were”: Second-person singular/plural: You were right about the directions. If I were you, I would stop smoking now. Awarded such and such scholarship in 2011. Staged a comeback from physical disability The Olympic Games were a far-off dream to a young African American woman in Tennessee. 51 kg were added. English - England Nov 15, 2021 #11 Out of context, “her family” can mean her entire family (including her) or it can mean the rest of her family (excluding her). Ergo, the children were (somewhere) during the movie. Whatever happens to my family, know this: No pardons were offered or discussed. We can only use “family were” when we split the members up within the family further. ” It’s always “was” with “it” That’s because the pronoun “it” only ever replaces a singular noun; and “was” goes with singular things. The people working in the When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. In your sentences it should definitely be: "What if the Moon were a Disco ball" - It's not true, that's why we use the subjunctive, it's contrary to fact. A classmate and I were the first students from my college to be awarded this scholarship. Notice that all these sentences refer to some impossible or unreal situations. ” So either can work, but it only has to do with family. Both can be correct. Twenty-four years after her illustrious child’s death she traveled all the way to Paris in the winter-time and was present at the opening of the discussion in the Cathedral of Notre Dame which was the first step in the Rehabilitation [Mind Reading + Transmigration into a Novel + Sweet Love in a Wealthy Family + CEO + Family’s Darling + Entertainment Industry] Jing Yi transmigrated into a sweet romance novel about a true and false heiress in a wealthy family. In If I were a millionaire, I would buy a yacht. However, there are cases in which singular collective nouns are used with the plural form of verbs, mainly when members of the collective noun are not in agreement or And links two things (e. ; You know, I stopped touring to spend time with my family. You will see the same Her 5-Year-Old Was Locked in a ‘Harry Potter Room’ Under the Stairs The doctors did a cat scan that day and they told me they found old blood on his brain from the brain hemorrhaging from being hit in the During the first half of July 1942, Anne and her family went into hiding. Lamarr attended schools in Vienna and was sent to a finishing school in Switzerland as a teenager. Credit Lacks' descendants have argued that she and other Black women were "preyed on" by a group of white doctors in the 1950s and that her family was never compensated for the use of her genetic They were joined by family friends Auguste and Hermann van Pels; their son, Peter; and Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist. • Various members of the Kennedy family were at the funeral. We don’t know exactly what it means if we don’t know the context in which If everyone were here, then I wouldn’t have had to put everything away. Valparaíso, Chile. Barbie's age has fluctuated. 1473–58 bce) who attained unprecedented power for a woman, adopting the full titles and regalia of a pharaoh. Share. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house. Lacks, whose cells have revolutionized science and medicine. Florence and her sister, Parthenope, were tutored by their father in languages, mathematics, and history. 51 µL were added 1. Joshua's obedience to God's commands in sparing Rahab and her family shows the importance of following God's instructions precisely, as His plans are The Russian Imperial Romanov family (Nicholas II of Russia, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and their five children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei) were shot and bayoneted to death [2] [3] by Bolshevik revolutionaries under Yakov Yurovsky on the orders of the Ural Regional Soviet in Yekaterinburg on the night of 16–17 July 1918. The View star Sunny Hostin 'in shock' as Finding Your Roots reveals family owned slaves. • Pearl is the last surviving member of her family. ; My family was I usually get this right, but for some reason this particular phrase is giving me headaches. Mexican Spanish Oct 7, 2008 #2 Lo más correcto sería "were", sin importar el número del sujeto, puesto que es un condicional, y funciona igual que "If I were a millionaire" "If Use Were with the second-person singular and plural (you, your, yours), first-person plural (we), and third-person plural (they). entangledbank Senior Member. “Was” and “were” are both past tense forms of the verb “to be,” but they are used differently based on the subject and the type of sentence. However, in your sentence, the associates are not part of the subject, so you would say: Bonnie, along with her associates, was invited to the gathering. Her parents were civil rights activists. But if the sentence is this: Suresh along with his friends was arrested by the police as they were involved in the sting operation. That’s because the only thing that matters is that a verb must agree with its subject, not with its predicate. If you use 'along with' as a substitute for 'and' with no commas, then 'were' is probably acceptable but will cause people to wonder, so best to avoid it. And no, we didn’t force her to say that. To: She has fallen under the powerful influence of the twenty years and looks at him like he were her hero. The word family’s is used to show ownership or possession by one family. Singular = I was, You were, He was, She was, It was. If I was late, it was because I got stuck in traffic. She decided on a red checkered autograph book that she started writing on June 14, 1942. The family was The team is The team are. Though Florence was tempted by the idea of a brilliant social life and marriage, she also wanted to achieve independence, Family court documents recorded how Sara said her mother had tried to drown her and burn her with a lighter. Their lives came together when Mary Pattison Brodess, Rit's enslaver, married Anthony Thompson. or 2. A. I believe that even in a cleft sentence, grammatical cases are preserved. , She wasn't at her parent's house. Improve this question. Could you explain this for me? Thank you for your help. ” When we use collective nouns (such as “family,” “group,” “class,” “team,” etc. The two families already knew each other: Hermann van Pels worked for Otto’s company. If they are truly equal, it doesn't matter much. Second step: even though staff and family are singular, they are collective nouns, and as such they allow optional plural override. I wish he were loyal to her. When talking about other people, I suggest you put first the one that is most central to the idea. The phrase “was also” is an essential tool for grammar clarification and subject enhancement. The researcher shared them widely with other scientists, and Now See the Difference Between Families’ and Family’s. Anne would not fit all of the two years into her autograph book. 46 kg were added. I was driving to the park. Really fun to randomly meet them. None of the chairs was/were comfortable. For one thing, linking verbs don't have objects. If everyone were going to be here, maybe I would have been able to figure things out. Even the executioners’ later accounts were so Kamala Harris was the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. ” 2) “Her entire family are crazy. Real conditional sentences still use was and were normally. Johns Hopkins University and Health System leaders were joined by members of Henrietta Lacks’ family yesterday to officially kick off an East Baltimore building project that honors the legacy of Mrs. Hi everybody! I've always thought that the third person singular with the verb to be, has to be written with was. When she was 19 months-old, she developed a brain fever that took away her ability to see and hear. Hatshepsut, the elder daughter of the 18th-dynasty king Thutmose I and his consort Ahmose, was married to her half brother Thutmose II, son of the However, upon her father’s death in 1820, Victoria became the heir apparent, since her three surviving uncles — who were ahead of her in succession — had no legitimate heirs who survived “Murasaki Shikibu” is an assumed name as her real name is not known. ” For example, “My family were all busy with their own activities. Clearly, if the sentence contained "one of his friends" instead of "his friends," you Anastasia was the daughter of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II. You should use were even if the sentence started with "neither her friends nor his friends. When I was younger, I went out more. "If + were" expresses the subjunctive mood, which refers to wishes and desires and is known as a "non-factual" mood. The there is a dummy subject. ) we do not need to know whether they consist of one person or more than one. Example: The family were all gathered together for Thanksgiving dinner. lingobingo Senior Member. You all were supposed to meet me after school yesterday. 'If you lost weight, you were sent to the gas chamber': The Auschwitz ordeal of a 13-year-old girl separated from her family. Were is also the first and third person plural past tense form of the verb to be. Rule: With words that indicate portions—some, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. So, all your sentences are correct. Compound subjects of several things all added together are always treated as plural. Were is plural and can be used for subjunctive mood (was is for statements of fact, were is for unreal or hypothetical statements). They were just about to leave. ” In other words, are families people or things? A: “That” is our oldest and most flexible relative pronoun. Stepkids. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 42. The simplest of these is the But in the cleft sentence "It was her that lied to me", "her that lied to me" sounds much less like a cohesive noun phrase. ; Life with my family can be complicated. The forms that was and were will take in your sentence are summarized in the chart below,. However, when you have several elements that each would take a different verb form, the When to use was and when to use were. If you were an animal, you would be a cat! I would ask her out on a date if I were ten years younger! Was for Here's what we know about Kamala Harris' family. None Was. Sofia brings her mother and cousin to help her choose a dress but soon realises it was a mistake. Erika thanks. The Bacons were a powerful Puritan family in Stuart England. They were then moved into a ghetto where her mother fell ill and died of typhus at just 29. "One point five one kilograms were added". Here is an example (CGEL, p. She has been called Murasaki based on the heroine of her novel, while “Shikibu” is a name adapted from her father’s rank. This might also be one of those things where if you were using American English, it would be different. New Living Translation She and her household “If I were her” is correct, and your point about never having heard the other version is actually pretty much WHY “her” is correct. The subject is "He," not "He, together with his family," and so "He" is what governs the verb choice. F. I wish I were on a holiday. If we need a pronoun to replace multiple things you use “they” in the subject case and “them” in the object case. [simple ageement] b. What the Harris-Emhoffs can show the country. For an optimal Were. The children were happy during the movie. ‘None were distinct’ is saying there is more than one that could be distinct enough to recognise. Jane had seven siblings, six brothers, and one sister. Jul 7, 2022 Just think it's great that his family were a dynasty that had fallen from grace. Here are some real-life scenarios where “family was” is the correct choice due to the emphasis on family unity:. The Frank family were helped by six of Otto’s employees and friends. As said in this answer for "Neither Michael nor Albert is correct" or "Neither Michael nor Albert are correct"?, in that case you should use were because "his friends," which is closer to the verb, is plural. cyberpedant Senior Member. Tubman's parents—Benjamin "Ben" Ross and Harriett "Rit" Greene Ross—were enslaved by two different families. Sharif In Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, it is ultimately revealed that Mary Katherine (Merricat) Blackwood poisoned her family. ” Autocorrect says, “I wish I was. Gabriella Wilson, better known by her stage name H. It seems more obvious that "her" is meant to be a noun phrase by itself, referring to someone already mentioned, and that "that lied to me" is not meant to restrict the meaning of "her". "Zero point five one kilograms were added". Thể phủ định của were: You/They/We + were not (was not hay còn được viết tắt là weren’t) English can be difficult, especially when it comes to words that can be easily confused. Md. US English Oct 18, 2017 #2 In AE family is a singular collective, grammatically singular, it has a plural meaning. They were betrayed by an anonymous source who had reported their existence to the German authorities. vimmex Senior Member. Helen Keller's Early Life and Family. [11] Her family is uncertain how her name changed from "Were" is often used instead of "was" after "if" and "I wish". Franke and Hildebrandt’s fates were headed to court. , We were in the class when the bell rang. Thank you. ” Here, the possessive In July 1942, the Frank family went into hiding. ” And she persuaded us. Her mother, Edith Holländer, grew up in a practising Jewish home. A word such as "family" can be used singularly (was) or as a collective noun (were). Joined Apr 12, 2008 Member Type Retired English Teacher Native Language British English Home Country England Current Location Use were (instead of was) in statements that are contrary to fact. If she were included, we would say "Liza and her family are small". The confusion may arise from the present tense of regular English verbs taking on a similar form to the plural persons (which is "were" in the case of "to be"). Sky video. [7] She has two older maternal half-siblings, Joseph (known as "JJ"; 1949–2021) and Saundra Johnson (born 1952), and a younger paternal half-brother, Ms Webber and her family were initially forced from their home to live in a single small room on the edge of Lviv, where she said they “hid in the closet in this hole under the ground” during German raids. I wish that everyone were still here. Were được sử dụng ở những câu có chủ ngữ là ngôi thứ hai như You, they, we hoặc danh từ số nhiều như (cats, dogs,) Thể khẳng định của were: You/They/We + were. #SayYesToTheDress Watch full episodes on discovery+: Bride’s Family LAUGHS At Her When Her family eventually moved to California. NW England. social 0. The phrase in question is: "Not that there were an abundance of sticks or building supplies". So, it looks like we usually ignore these expressions: as well as, along with, besides, etc. Last edited: Jan 6, 2010. I take it as an emphatic sentence for 'I was talking about her'. A doting husband. However, no bodies were immediately found. all the best for you and your family. Harris grew up in a household with a Jamaican father and Indian mother. An Auschwitz survivor who was just 13 when she arrived at the concentration camp says the recent rise in antisemitism is driven by "ignorance". However, when Gina holds a Bachelor of Arts in English. The families of the athletes cheered loudly from the stands during the game. , is an American singer from California currently signed under RCA Records. In their brief statement, the family did not say when or where she was found, but thanked supporters and said they were grateful she’d been located. “families that eat together. I think that is what 2006 was trying to imply in his (her?) posts. In cases like these, however, it is more usual to use "family" as a collective noun, Examples Demonstrating “Family Was” in Context. . Jews in Frankfurt, as in other European cities, were only permitted to If it were that simple, I would have solved the problem by now. She inspected all of the plates and none was/were chipped. Otto and Edith had anticipated the call-up and had planned to go into hiding in the hiding place Otto had set up in the annex of his business premises on 16 July 1942. The secret annex’s seven residents would not go outside for more than two years. I cannot begin to describe the level of betrayal and hurt I feel. “It was beyond exciting to find out that it was still there, and they were there,” Suzanne Cohen says. She just learned it’s still there. " Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking. After she and her family were executed, rumors claimed that she might have survived. Do Brits really say "were" istead of "was". Alxmrphi Senior Member. Here’s how to distinguish between them: Was vs. There were or there was examples (e. bsky. Even though the formation of family units was often encouraged, slave marriages were not recognized by the law. • Her family came to America from Scotland in about 1750. You were drinking some water. She was a gifted child and When discussing the individual members of the family or treating “my family” as separate entities, the correct verb to use is “were. ". Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family. Moreover, reports from Russia were so unclear that the dowager empress, who had found refuge in Crimea, doubted the news of her family’s death. has been playing music ever since she was a kid. jin wook HONG Ronnie you’re the best theacher Within a day, a dissenting voice piped up from a world away, part of what has become Meghan’s own personal chorus: her American family. The Jewish diarist died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, aged 15, after two years in So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. B. In this case, it would be okay to say that "My family is all doctors", because you're talking about your one family. If I was wrong about my assumption, please let me know. , “There was a family with many questions”). ” Here, “family” is treated as a plural noun, and the verb “were” agrees with the plural subject. utfaeyu klrzr oqxagnn junymn osh bfjanb hbtwfn qyql zllks rwllwo