I was reading a story about Watergate, and came across this sentence. "In the early morning of June 17, 1972, a team of five burglars were arrested in the act of breaking into the Democratic Party's Nation Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C." Shouldn't the "were" be "was" because the subject is team? Or is team plural? This has been bothering me.
2006-06-26 05:51:58 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
I wanted to add that burglars cannot be the subject because "of five burglars" is a prepositional phrase and no subjects will ever be found in a prep phrase.
2006-06-26 06:05:11 · update #1
You're correct-- good eye. Team is singular; it should be was.
Have you read "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves?" One read of that and $h!t like this'll be jumping out at you.
2006-06-26 06:58:34 · answer #1 · answered by ishotvoltron 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
It could go either way, both could be grammatically correct. The way it reads, the subject could be "a team" or "Five burglars". As written, 'were' refers to the five burglars. I think that the flow would be better, though, if the subject was the team, not the 5 burglars. "Was" just sounds better, although it is grammatically correct as written, it is awkward.
2006-06-26 13:00:42 · answer #2 · answered by Bartmooby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A collective noun names a group and is singular in form. (For example, jury, team, class, family.) Collective nouns, however, may be either singular or plural. When the collective noun acts as a unit, it is singular; but when the members of the group act individually, the collective noun is plural.
Examples: The team is in the south ball field. (The team is thought of as a unit; therefore the noun is singular.)
The team were arrested in the act of breaking into .... (Each person in the team was acting individually; therefore the noun is plural.) They may have been acting as a team to break into the hotel, but they were arrested individually.
So, since each member was individually arrested, it should be plural, so "were" is correct.
2006-06-26 16:19:39 · answer #3 · answered by kokosmom2001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That sounds really funny a team of five burglars was arrested lol...i don't know the rules exactly, but i believe the sentence as it reads is correct...if it was merely a team was arrested then was would be correct
2006-06-26 12:56:49 · answer #4 · answered by Maestro 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Team" is a collective pronoun similar to herd, flock, group, etc. A collective pronoun takes, or collects, a bunch of things and transforms them into a single thing. Therefore, the singular form "was" is the correct verb.
I have noticed more and more that people in the media tend to use the plural form of verbs with collective promouns. In my opinion, and the opinion of the English teachers I had, the media is wrong.
2006-06-26 13:03:18 · answer #5 · answered by Don K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No man. It should be "were" as it is. Just read it and say "was" in place of "were" and it sounds stupid. Was would be for a singular. The man was... but there were 5 men. The men were...
I guess I see what you're saying about the team but it doesn't sound right. The way you're suggesting it makes me think of someone saying, "We was at the store". Which is ghetto talk.
2006-06-26 12:58:41 · answer #6 · answered by DiRTy D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Team is plural, the sentence is just fine. Team is plural, team is a group of more than one person. lol Don't worry the sentence is fine. Was would be for a person.
2006-06-26 12:56:50 · answer #7 · answered by dotbrie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're right! It should be "was." I'll bet the writer of the story was confused because "of five burglars" was included and that threw him/her off. Good eye!
2006-06-26 12:55:01 · answer #8 · answered by Kate C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No." team", and "five burglars" are all in a plural state.
2006-06-26 12:55:56 · answer #9 · answered by jusb4dawn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're kindof right..There is "singular," "plural" and "collective" according to some grammar theory. A bunch of people, but one group. "Was" arrested should be correct.
2006-06-26 12:56:03 · answer #10 · answered by beinggood 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No burglars is plural they are the object to which were refers.
2006-06-26 12:55:20 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋