Phrase: "All I wanted was children"

[Ched133]

I recently saw an article that reads "all i wanted was children"
My question is, shouldn't it read "all i wanted were children" instead?

Is this an exception to the rule because many native speakers refer a plural noun as one singular thing?

When do i use "was" vs "were" in the above situation?

See below for the article and web link:
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Octuplet mom: ‘All I wanted was children’
Feb. 6: TODAY’s Ann Curry talks to Nadya Suleman, the woman who gave birth to octuplets last week, about her dreams of having a large family and how she plans to raise her 14 children.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29038814/?gt1=43001

[Milanya]

IMHO
The subject is not "children" it is "all I wanted." The verb is supposed to agree with the subject.
_________________
con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.

[Ched133]

Are you saying "all" is a singular subject?

Are the following sentences incorrect

All the cars are in the lot
All the places are good

[Ched133]

To counter your point and for me to better understand the logistics
Can you say
All i wanted was a car for xmas and a playstation for turkey day
Based on the singular subject "all i wanted", you've restricted the sentence to mean 1 single thing. Clearly, a car and a playstation are two separate things on two separate occasions

To me, grammar is as dead a thing as it can be. It is a mechanical process and should never change unless following the rules will be misleading.

There has to be a mechanical rule why a singular verb such as "was" is always followed by "all i wanted"

[Ched133]

Does anyone have any ideas?
Please help if you know the answer

[Rafaelinrio]

This is quite simple and plain to see.
When we say: All I wanted was a car. Or All I want IS a car.

All in this case has the same idea of Everything, which is always used with the verb in the 3rd person.

When you say All the cars are/were, in this case the subject is The cars, and that's why you have the verb in the plural form.

[Ched133]

so you are saying it is okay and grammatically correct to say

"all i wanted is CARS"

the subject determines the verb. in the sentence above, the singular verb doesn't fit the plural subject (cars), unless the subject is something else like "all"

Please explain?

[Ched133]

"everything" is always followed by a singular verb and never a plural verb

but "all" could mean both singular and plural

Right?

[Rafaelinrio]

Hey guys pay attention:

When we say All I want is a car, in tis cas IS makes reference to All, which is the subject of the sentence and, has the singular form, similar to everything.

When we say All the cars are expensive, in this case the subject is cars and that's why we have the verb in the plural form.

Thus, if the verb makes reference to what comes before it, it doesn't matter whether you have a singular or plural noun after it.

All that she wants is cars and money.

All I needed was people who cared about me.

You got it?

[Ched133]

i think i'm getting you
so you are saying the writer determines the subject
and both sentences are correct depending on what the writer means right?

All i wanted was children
All i wanted were children

both are correct? please verify

[Ched133]

in other words,
you are saying "cars and money" is one singular thing because the writer intends those two things to mean 1 thing

[Rafaelinrio]

Hey,

No, both sentences are not correct. Only the first one is.

Pay attention.

All I wanted was children

It is correct because as I said ALL when used as the subject of a sentence is ALWAYS SINGULAR.

All She needed WAS people who worried about her.
All they dream of IS cars and fame.
All we have to do IS go on with our lives.

In the following sentences ALL is a quantifier and not a subject, therefore, the verb must follow the form of the subject:

All the people in the room are talking about it. (The people is the subject)
All the children were there on time. (the children is the subject)

Man I think you'll get it now.

[Velenir]

Sometimes it can be written All are
as in: all are not thieves that dogs bark at -this one is an idiom but you can write ARE to emphasise that ALL(things, people) are plural.

[Nick*]

Considering the following cases, which one(s) is/are correct and why? All are welcome !

(1) All I wanted was children.
(2) All I wanted were children.
(3) All I wanted was children, a house and a car.
(4) All I wanted were children, a house and a car.

Regards,
Nick

[Ched133]

This is what i have learned
"all i want is" is an expression so what follows that can be either singular or plural

(1) All I wanted was children. = correct
(2) All I wanted were children = not correct
(3) All I wanted was children, a house and a car = correct
(4) All I wanted were children, a house and a car = not correct

Simply,
All I wanted was X, Y and Z
or
All I wanted was X

Does anyone else have any input?