Which one is correct? The way I see it, the subject is 'the thing' which is singular thus it should carry 'was', no matter what follows. However, there seems to be a lot of people who use 'were' instead. Is 'the people' the subject in this sentence?
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1The most amazing things were the people...– Ian MacDonaldCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 2:15
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5Verbs agree with their subject. The subject is generally the noun phrase before the first auxiliary verb, except in special constructions like questions. The subject here is singular third person, so the verb is was.– John LawlerCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 3:42
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I cannot upvote you guys so I'll just say thank you.– nitsukaCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 5:01
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@Ian MacDonald The '[most amazing] thing' here is generalised; 'things' does not work. Compare 'It's us'. The subject outranks the complement in dictating the agreement of the verb.– Edwin AshworthCommented Mar 14, 2015 at 14:24
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1 Answer
Your point is right. The correct way is
The most amazing thing was the people who...
I tried to think about the other specific possibilities. Sometimes we use "were" in the case of the subjunctive mood, however, it is used after "if, as if, wish, suppose". Here is not that case except if it is like
(I wish) the most amazing thing were the people who...
"I wish" was not said, but meant.
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1Thank you for your comment. As you noted, this is not a subjunctive sentence. Just plain old simple past.– nitsukaCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 4:59