Quiz time: Should it be "was" or "were"?
Inspired by a post by Bill Walsh, I offer you a little quiz.
Bill said that a reader complained about the following “error” in his newspaper:
One of the few commanders who were successful in Iraq in that first year of the occupation, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, made studying counterinsurgency a requirement at the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, where mid-career officers are trained.
The reader said that it should be “who was successful” rather than “who were successful.” On the contrary, said Bill, were is the correct tense.
The quiz: Which is it, and why? Drop your answer in the comments.
Oh, in case you’re wondering, Bill Walsh is a copy editor for The Washington Post. I’d rather you tried answering the question before you do, but if you really can’t resist and want to read Bill’s post, it’s here.
Roy Jacobsen
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Reader Comments (7)
"Lt. Gen. David Patraeus, one of the few successful commanders in Iraq during the first year of occupation, made studying..."
First of all, "were" is the correct verb. With a compound sentence like this, you can untangle things by breaking things into separate sentences. "Few commanders were successful in Iraq in the first year of the campaign. One of them, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, made studying counterinsurgency ..." When you put it that way, it's easy to see that "was" would not be appropriate.
But, as some of you pointed out, rearranging and rewording might be preferable. You all have made some good suggestions.