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Grammar question: "was" or "were"?
Would it be correct to say "If the government were to sanction" or "If the government was to sanction"? The first one sounds right, but MS Word tells me it's the second. Thanks!
8 Answers
- cymry3jonesLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
Were is correct.
'the government' is singular, since 'government' is a collective noun.
However, MS Word is not taking into account the word 'if'. This word means that the sentence is conditional and thus it is correct to use 'were'.
Source(s): A Practical English Grammar - 1999 - OUP. - dobrzykowskiLv 45 years ago
No, I am now not. I do not care if any person spells anything mistaken on coincidence. That's great. Everyone does it. What I do have a hindrance with are humans that spell phrases mistaken on intent. They use this new factor referred to as "web shorthand."
- 8 years ago
yes, it should be "was".
government is a singular noun (a government is a group of people that has the power to rule in a territory, according to the law - wikipedia)
