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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Was or were

Hi. Let us say that someone is asking a group of students a question after they have watched a short video clip. Which is correct? Let us also say that a group of thieves have come into his house when he wasn't there.

Question: Who was/were at his house when he wasn't there?

I think we could also use a present tense for this type of question. Could we use the present tense instead of the past tense?

Who is/are at his house when he wasn't there?
  

Top answer

- - 'Who' is a singular pronoun, though it will occur in speech with a plural verb in situations similar to yours where the speaker anticipates plurality. Could we use the present tense instead of the past tense-- No, not here, when you have also used past in the dependent clause: Who was at his house when he wasn't there?

— Mister Micawber

  • - - 'Who' is a singular pronoun, though it will occur in speech with a plural verb in situations similar to yours where the speaker anticipates plurality.
  • Could we use the present tense instead of the past tense-- No, not here, when you have also used past in the dependent clause: Who was at his house when he wasn't there?
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1 Answers
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Question: Who was at his house when he wasn't there?-- 'Who' is a singular pronoun, though it will occur in speech with a plural verb in situations similar to yours where the speaker anticipates plurality.


Could we use the present tense instead of the past tense-- No, not here, when you have also used past in the dependent clause: Who was at his house wh
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