IN both the sentences, we have added A before Number and Group , emphasising they both are singular. Moreover, we are calling but a group or a number of people, not the people . So, why we use WAS for Group and WERE for Number.
2006-08-17 21:21:07 · 9 answers · asked by gagan k 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
a number of means MANY, therefore, you should use "were".
but a group, a whole group, there's only ONE group--it is a singular identity, thus you should use "was".
2006-08-17 21:26:24 · answer #1 · answered by Confused 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You're asking the wrong question.
OF is a preposition. The object of a preposition can NOT be the subject of a sentence. So the subjects of the sentences are:
A Number
and
A Group
A number WAS called A number WERE called
A group WAS called A group WERE called
The preposition makes it misleading. Number and Group can both be either singular or plural. But they have different meaning.
WAS is referring to Number and Group as singular entities.
WERE is referring to Number and Group as a collection of individuals, and is therefore plural.
I would tend NOT to say a group were called because it sounds awkward.
2006-08-17 21:32:06 · answer #2 · answered by maî 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It has to do with collective nouns. People have a lot of trouble with them. They can take both singular and plural verbs, depending on the context. Here is an example they gave us in my grammar book back in school:
The band is playing. (band is one unit)
The band are all here. (band refers to individual members in this sense)
You need to make sure not to count the "of people" part of your sentence when looking at verb structure, as the verb only modifies the subject, not a prepositional phrase that modifies the subject. So it would be correct to say "A number was called" in certain contexts, even though "were" sounds right, too.
2006-08-17 21:57:10 · answer #3 · answered by Jeannie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that we say a number of people were called because it represents just that, a number. You can think of it like "x" in algebra. For instance, we could say 15 people were called. The group of people was called. The group is a name for a vague collection of people, we view this as a single unit.
2006-08-18 15:10:39 · answer #4 · answered by Freddie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In this context, "number" is plural and "group" is singular (it's only one group - it doesn't matter that the group contains more than one person or thing). Therefore, the number were... and the group was...
2006-08-17 21:54:46 · answer #5 · answered by midlandsharon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is still singular...as in ONE group...as opposed to MANY groups...even though the word group implies many. Number of people is plural; representing more than one person...as in ONE person was sleeping, etc...as opposed to many people were sleeping. I hope this makes sense to you...I know it can get a little confusing.
2006-08-17 21:33:52 · answer #6 · answered by riverhawthorne 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a number means many, a group means one group
2006-08-18 00:07:29 · answer #7 · answered by tombraider 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the denomination of "number" of people means that MANY such denominations were called, hence WERE is used, whereas in the second part, the "Group" is a collective form, and the denomination remains singular, irrespective of the quantum of persons forming the group.
Thats how I understand it.
2006-08-17 21:30:29 · answer #8 · answered by stoneman 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in " A group of People" verb returns to group but in " A number of people" verb returns to people.(A group consists of people but there are a number of people.)
2006-08-17 21:30:31 · answer #9 · answered by P J 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋