Grammarians, how should this sentence be written?

[Ginevra]

Which is correct?

 

"A group of men was walking down the steps..." in which the singular "was" refers back to the singular "group," or

 

"A group of men were walking down the steps..."in which the plural "were" refers back to the plural "men"?

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

Even though it is 1 group, a group implies more than one so it would be the 2nd choice.

[MyThreeSons]

Even though it is 1 group, a group implies more than one so it would be the 2nd choice.

 

I respectfully disagree. If you take out the phrase "of men", you wouldn't say "A group were walking ..." . So it should be was.

 

So, now you have one vote for each option. :D

[TheCoffeeChick]

I'd say it is option #1.

 

The phrase "of men" is a prepositional phrase that is merely describing the group and the word "group" (which is the subject of the sentence) is singular. Leave out "of men" and you get "A group was walking ... " If you were to say "A group were walking ..." it stands out as being incorrect.

 

Hope I'm right! ;) Someone may come along with more information than I have.

[TheCoffeeChick]

I respectfully disagree. If you take out the phrase "of men", you wouldn't say "A group were walking ..." . So it should be was.

 

So, now you have one vote for each option. :D

 

 

Posting at the same time!! Glad someone agrees with me. :)

[Ginevra]

My Three Sons, that's what I thought, too, but then if you take out "A group" and just say "Men were walking", then it works. It might be that it's just an awkward sentence as is.

[TheCoffeeChick]

My Three Sons, that's what I thought, too, but then if you take out "A group" and just say "Men were walking", then it works. It might be that it's just an awkward sentence as is.

 

 

But the word "men" is not the subject, but a preposition. You can't take out the subject of the sentence when diagramming it - the verb needs it. ;)

[Ester Maria]

I was taught that both are acceptable nowadays, but that, linguistically speaking, it should be "was" as the verb concordes with the subject, and the subject is actually "a group", not "men".

"A group of men" is a nominal syntagm, with "group" being the head, and "of men" being an extension (not sure if I'm getting the terms down correctly, I'm translating from Italian in my mind), so "was" is preferred linguistically, and "were" is preferred semantically. In Italian both sentences would be correct, I never marked that as a mistake, as long as one option is used consistently in the entire paper.

[Windmilldreamer]

If you're going to take group out of the sentence, you leave "Of men was/were walking" and then you realize that you took the wrong word out. Grammatically, it has to be "A group was walking."

 

In terms of standard usage currently, I'm guessing this is not a heavily enforced rule. It depends on how pedantic you want to be, or circumstances require you to be. IMHO

[angela in ohio]

If you're going to take group out of the sentence, you leave "Of men was/were walking" and then you realize that you took the wrong word out. Grammatically, it has to be "A group was walking."

 

In terms of standard usage currently, I'm guessing this is not a heavily enforced rule. It depends on how pedantic you want to be, or circumstances require you to be. IMHO

 

Well said. :001_smile:

 

Group can be considered singular or plural, depending on whether they are being treated as one or as individuals. In this case, they are all moving together, so they are being treated as one entity. So, option A.

[NanceXToo]

After reading all the replies, I'd say:

 

A group of men walked down the steps.

 

<shrug>

 

LOL.

 

(Okay I agree that "was" is the correct one to use but it sounds 'funny' to me, for some reason).

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Number 1 is correct.

A group was walking.

 

of men - is the prep. phrase and the verb should not agree with the prep. phrase but the subject which is 'group'.

 

I have never heard of the word 'group' used as a plural subject. Groups is plural.

 

A group was walking

The groups were walking.

 

I liken it to the word herd.

 

The herd of bison was running.

The herds of bison were running

Edited June 16, 2010 by The Dragon Academy

[Parrothead]

Number 1 is correct.

A group was walking.

 

of men - is the prep. phrase and the verb should not agree with the prep. phrase but the subject which is 'group'.

 

I have never heard of the word 'group' used as a plural subject. Groups is plural.

 

A group was walking

The groups were walking.

 

I liken it to the word herd.

 

The herd of bison was running.

The herds of bison were running

:iagree:One group is singular so use the singular verb. In this case was. Many groups, more groups, two groups is plural and would need the plural verb.

[Ellie]

I'd say it is option #1.

 

The phrase "of men" is a prepositional phrase that is merely describing the group and the word "group" (which is the subject of the sentence) is singular. Leave out "of men" and you get "A group was walking ... " If you were to say "A group were walking ..." it stands out as being incorrect.

 

Hope I'm right! ;) Someone may come along with more information than I have.

Well, you would say, "A bunch of us were walking down the stairs." Isn't "a bunch" more than one? So wouldn't "a group" be more than one?

 

My vote is that it could go either way.:) If you were in an English class and you know which one the teacher preferred, you'd use that.

 

I thought I had read that the verb would depend on the number of the object of the preposition; IOW, "of men" is the prepositional phrase; "men" is the object of the preposition, and it is plural, so the following verb would be plural.

 

:tongue_smilie:

[Mejane]

Agree with those who said was. (This is why I love Easy Grammar. If you take out the prepositional phrases, everything else falls into place.)

[angela in ohio]

Well, you would say, "A bunch of us were walking down the stairs." Isn't "a bunch" more than one? So wouldn't "a group" be more than one?

 

Bunch is another collective noun, like group. Either of them could be plural or singular depending on the context. I would say "A bunch of us was walking down the stairs." It sounds funny, because the 'us' is there, but so does "Give it to her and me." ;)

 

I can't think of any good exmaples right now, but you can google "collective noun," OP, to get examples of collective nouns used in the singular (acting as or being viewed as one entitity) and plural (individual members emphasized.)

Edited June 16, 2010 by angela in ohio

[Laurie4b]

I believe this is different in American versus Brit grammar. Brit's would say there are several in the group, So a group of men were walking...Americans say a group is one thing, so a group of men was walking...

 

So I think both are correct, but not for the SAT....

[Ginevra]

How interesting that I'm not the only person who doesn't find this straightforward.

 

Grammatically, I think those of you who indicate it should be "A group was..." are correct. The explanation that "A group" is the subject singular, so the verb is singular makes sense to me.

 

But semantically, it does sound weird to me. Were walking sounds normal to me.

[Dawn in OH]

Which is correct?

 

"A group of men was walking down the steps..." in which the singular "was" refers back to the singular "group," or

 

"A group of men were walking down the steps..."in which the plural "were" refers back to the plural "men"?

 

 

"A group of men was walking down the steps..." sounds very wrong to me.

 

I think that "A group of men were walking down the steps..." sounds better to me. I ran through an online grammar checker, because the replies had me doubting myself, and it agreed with me. Of course, we all know that grammar checkers are not always correct.

[angela in ohio]

How interesting that I'm not the only person who doesn't find this straightforward.

 

Grammatically, I think those of you who indicate it should be "A group was..." are correct. The explanation that "A group" is the subject singular, so the verb is singular makes sense to me.

 

But semantically, it does sound weird to me. Were walking sounds normal to me.

 

Unfortunately, you can't really use "sounds right" anymore, because so many people use things incorrectly.

 

Around here, everyone says "he don't" and "she don't." It sounds right to everyone, I'm sure, but it isn't grammatically correct.

[Mrs Mungo]

Number 1 is correct.

A group was walking.

 

of men - is the prep. phrase and the verb should not agree with the prep. phrase but the subject which is 'group'.

 

I have never heard of the word 'group' used as a plural subject. Groups is plural.

 

A group was walking

The groups were walking.

 

I liken it to the word herd.

 

The herd of bison was running.

The herds of bison were running

 

:iagree: and I don't think it's pedantic to say so. ;) This is basic grammar, subject/verb agreement. Now, if you are British, it *is* different, it's true. However, for Americans it would be "a group of men was walking down the street."

 

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/collective-nouns.aspx

[Teachin'Mine]

On the SAT - a group "was" (of men being a preposition doesn't count)

 

In conversation - I'd probably say "were" :)

 

In real life - Some guys were ... :lol:

[Dawn in OH]

I woke up last night to an exploded diaper on the baby. Anyway, I couldn't go back to sleep after the enormous clean up and as I was laying there the answer hit me, out of the blue.

 

I'm changing my position on this question.

The correct answer is "A group of men was walking down the stairs..."

 

All of the sudden, at 5:30 AM, the sentence sounded right, there are grammar rules to back it up, and all my doubt was cleared away.

[Truscifi]

After reading all the replies, I'd say:

 

A group of men walked down the steps.

 

<shrug>

 

LOL.

 

(Okay I agree that "was" is the correct one to use but it sounds 'funny' to me, for some reason).

 

:iagree: :lol:

[Spy Car]

Unfortunately, you can't really use "sounds right" anymore, because so many people use things incorrectly.

 

Around here, everyone says "he don't" and "she don't." It sounds right to everyone, I'm sure, but it isn't grammatically correct.

 

He don't/she don't sure doesn't sound "correct" to me nor do I expect that it sounds correct to many (any?) members of this forum.

 

In contrast, I'm sure a great many of us would hold that "a group of men were walking down the stairs" sounds much more "natural" than "a group of men was walking down the stairs."

 

I'm going with the English on this one. If memory serves (it may not) they had something to do with coming up with this language.

 

Bill (it is I :tongue_smilie:)