Yahoo Answers is shutting down on 4 May 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Grammar question help?
Comic book characters (was/were) the theme of the banquet.
My reasoning:
Was because it is all within one theme
Normally, if u have a plural subject and a linking verb, what comes after will be plural
Him:
Were because comic book characters are all just one thing
Theme acts like a collective noun in this instance
6 Answers
- wowLv 41 decade agoFavourite answer
WERE
The subject of the sentence is plural (characters)
WAS can be used if you rearrange the sentence and make the (theme) the subject
- Anonymous1 decade ago
The theme of the banquet was comic book characters.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
Try putting 'the theme' first and see how it sounds. 'The theme of the banquet was comic book characters' sounds and is more correct there. The structure of your sentence is very ambiguous as to what the subject is.
- 1 decade ago
It's 'was'. 'Comic book characters' is a collective noun acting as a whole, not as a group of individuals, and is therefore singular.
- 1 decade ago
I am pretty sure that they are both correct. It could also depend a bit on the sentences before and after, I guess.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
i say was
