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Why were and why not Was



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Expression: so much fine health to be pulled down | How to speak 'take a day off' in a polite way?
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Why were and why not Was Tue Apr 17, 2007 2:24 am  Why were and why not Was
 

the following sentence is grammatically correct:

Fifty millilitres of sodium chloride solution were added in the second step of the experiment.

However can someone please make me understand as to why " was " cannot be used in place of " were "in the above sentence

thanks
Forgmat
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Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 1

Why were and why not Was Tue Apr 17, 2007 4:00 am  Why were and why not Was
 

Welcome to the forum, Forgmat.

Was your sentence a test question?

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with using 'was' in your sentence. Actually, I think either could be used. Things such as a measured distance, a specific quantity, a specific amount of money, or a period of years, when seen as a single unit, can be used with a singular verb.

Compare these:
Twenty-six miles is the usual length of a marathon.
Fifty dollars is too much to pay for that.
Mr. Johnson's class is really boring. Two hours seems like an eternity in his class.
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Expression: so much fine health to be pulled down | How to speak 'take a day off' in a polite way?
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