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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

singular or plural verb

0I have a bet with a woman in the office about the answer to the following question: Should the following sentence use the singular verb "was" or the plural verb "were." "A history and physical was taken in the office OR A history and physical were taken in the office."02br
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00I thought it should be "was" because "A" starts the sentence and the history and physical are both sections of one report. She thought it should be were because history is one section and physical is another section. Thanks for your help0-
  

Top answer

0The sentence does not seem correct to me with either 01b 00was02b 00 or 01b 00were02b 00. 02br 02br 00I'd say, "History and 01i 00physics02i 00 01b 00were02b 00... "02br 02br 00By the way, I don't quite understand how they could be taken in the office.

— Ruslana

  • 0The sentence does not seem correct to me with either 01b 00was02b 00 or 01b 00were02b 00.
  • 02br 02br 00I'd say, "History and 01i 00physics02i 00 01b 00were02b 00...
  • "02br 02br 00By the way, I don't quite understand how they could be taken in the office.
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8 Answers
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0The sentence does not seem correct to me with either 01b00was02b00 or 01b00were02b00. 02br
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00I'd say, "History and 01i00physics02i00 01b00were02b00... "02br
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00By the way, I don't quite understand how they could be taken in the office. Are textbooks implie
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00In the future, please do not post the same question in two different areas. Thanks.040pid322519
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0 I did not realize I had posted the same question. The first time I typed the question I had not registered, so I did not think it posted. The "history and physical" refer to the doctor talking to the patient and examining the patient. When he dictates, he dictates the sentence as, "A history and physical "was/were" taken in the office --- Thanks for any help. As a first time user of this s
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01cite10Anonymous12cite10I have a bet with a woman in the office about the answer to the following question: Should the following sentence use the singular verb "was" or the plural verb "were." "A history and physical was taken in the office OR 11b10A history and physical12b10 were taken in the office."12br
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0 In this case there are two reports - medical history of the patient and physical examination of the patient - therefore "were" is correct.0-
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0The life of a transcriber is hard. You have to capture what was actually said, even if it doesn't make sense. Do doctors really say "a physical was taken"? Anyway, it still could be either: if the history and exam happen at the same time and are considered a "unit," then it could be singular. My instinct is to say they are separate.02br
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00(Note to others: Please note th
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0 Thank you Feebs and Brenda. Brenda, you are correct: A transcriber has to transcribe what the doctor says even if the sentence is structured incorrectly. This report is referring to a history of the patient and an examination of the patient. Both are done at the same time in the office, but the information is in the report (singular). I guess the concensus is that it could be singular or
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I think the question must be more elaborate next time.....it must be the history and physical exam were taken in the doctor's office. hope that helps...good day
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