Were or was?

[irmamar]

The most important band was/were the Beatles.

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

The most important band was/were the Beatles.

Hey - we've had this before with groups. In this case, band is clearly singular and so must the verb be.

On a different level,

The most important band was The Rolling Stones.

[lacasadeannie]

The most important band was The Beatles. ("band" is singular - a collective noun. And yes, I totally agree! )

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by lacasadeannie

The most important band was The Beatles. ("band" is singular - a collective noun. And yes, I totally agree! )

Yes, but collective nouns can be singular or plural in BrE,

The jury retired to consider their/its verdict.
The team was celebrating their/its victory

[irmamar]

No, it was the Beatles.

Thank you.

[CrOtALiTo]

I have a question.

Was is for an person.

And the were is utilized for a third person right?

They were the greatest artist of the history.

[Rusty]

Crotalito, as stated above, the word 'band' is singular, so the singular third-person verb is used. This is 'was'.

It was. He was. She was. The apple was. The band was.


They were the greatest artists in history.

Your last sentence, corrected above, uses the third-person plural because the subject 'they' is plural.

[CrOtALiTo]

I got it.

Thank you for the explanation.

[laepelba]

Just for clarification, would you write that sentence in Spanish. I know it has something to do with the word "grupo" and the use of a plural verb.... right?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Lou Ann: "Grupo", "banda" and similar words are only singular in Spanish. (Same with "policía", "gente", etc.)

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Lou Ann: "Grupo", "banda" and similar words are only singular in Spanish. (Same with "policía", "gente", etc.)

I'm quite agree with you. They are very similar.
Grupo and Banda words or expression are very used in Spanish.

La banda timbiriche.
El grupo timbiriche.
They are quite the same in Spanish the meaning doesn't change in anything.

[laepelba]

But I have some strange recollection of something like "el grupo tocaron ....." or something? Or could it be "el grupo de musicos tocaron...."?

[poli]

Originally Posted by laepelba

But I have some strange recollection of something like "el grupo tocaron ....." or something? Or could it be "el grupo de musicos tocaron...."?

El grupo tocaron means the group played music.
A simple response would be ¿Qué tocaron? (What did they play?)

The verb tocar can mean to play a musical instrument.

It's seems unlikely to me that group of musicians would call their band
Tocaron, but anything's possible.

[Rusty]

El grupo tocó ... (the verb agrees with the subject).

Los integrantes del grupo tocaron ... (the subject this time is plural, so the verb agrees).

Elvis y el grupo tocaron ... (plural subject, plural verb ending).

[laepelba]

That's what I meant! In English, we would say "the group plays..." (verb in the singular because "group" is singular). Or am I completely confused?

Ahhh - Rusty & I cross-posted. Thanks, Rusty. I could swear I heard or read something that stated that "group" is often matched with a plural verb..... but what do I know.........

[Rusty]

Correct! The group is always singular, in both languages.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Correct! The group is always singular, in both languages.

I assume you mean specifically a band, not generally a group noun.

[poli]

Group is a singular noun but with strange characteristics.
For instance: The group appeared at Town Hall last night. They played
selections from their latest CD's.....
No English speaker would ever say: It played selections from ....

In Spanish I would use Tocaron selecciones de sus más nuevos CD's, but I don't know if my choice is correct, I would like to know from Spanish speakers if you would use tocó o tocaron in this case.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

If you have a subject like "la banda" or "el grupo" or the name of it, the verb is used in singular. When the subject is implicit, people often to talk in plural, because they tend to think about the persons in the band.

Anoche Camila dio un gran concierto. La banda/el grupo tocó una selección de su CD/disco más reciente e incluyeron algunos temas de sus discos anteriores.
Para su canción más romántica estuvieron acompañados en el escenario por un cuarteto de cuerdas. El cuarteto estaba formado por músicos jóvenes de la Escuela Nacional de Música, quienes se mostraron contentos apoyar al grupo en su gira de despedida.
(Made-up paragraph)

[irmamar]

The question is that in Spanish, as being syntax more free than in English, I can say both:

El mejor grupo era "Los Beatles"
and
El mejor grupo eran "los Beatles"
or
"Los Beatles" era el mejor grupo
and
"Los Beatles" eran el mejor grupo.