Hi Leigh, I read something the other day that seemed wrong, but I would like to check with the Snarky Editor. It was in a suspense novel and I've paraphrased a bit just to make sure I'm not in violation of some copyright laws: "...until all that was left was the columns and the gate..." Shouldn't it be "all that were left..."? Have a great day, Peter
That's a confusing one for certain. The first "was" goes with "all", and it's correct because "all" in this use is a sweeping term for everything that's included -- all the surviving architectural features are being talked about as a whole. But the second "was" goes with "the columns and the gate," and because that's a compound construction it requires "were" instead. So you're correct that the best phrasing would be "All that was left were the columns and the gate."
Kudoes for the author, though, in putting the columns before the gate. "All that was left were the gate and the columns" doesn't read as smoothly as "All that was left were the columns and the gate."
Just a note about copyright, too. Quoting a few words from a book, in reviews or for educational purposes, doesn't cause a problem with copyright. (A few words from a poem or song lyric can be a bigger issue, but even there, quoting to ask a question shouldn't create any difficulty.)
Sorry, "all that was left WERE...". I think the first was is ok, but I'm not 100% . Thanks
Hi Leigh, I read something the other day that seemed wrong, but I would like to check with the Snarky Editor. It was in a suspense novel and I've paraphrased a bit just to make sure I'm not in violation of some copyright laws: "...until all that was left was the columns and the gate..." Shouldn't it be "all that were left..."? Have a great day, Peter
That's a confusing one for certain. The first "was" goes with "all", and it's correct because "all" in this use is a sweeping term for everything that's included -- all the surviving architectural features are being talked about as a whole. But the second "was" goes with "the columns and the gate," and because that's a compound construction it requires "were" instead. So you're correct that the best phrasing would be "All that was left were the columns and the gate."
Kudoes for the author, though, in putting the columns before the gate. "All that was left were the gate and the columns" doesn't read as smoothly as "All that was left were the columns and the gate."
Just a note about copyright, too. Quoting a few words from a book, in reviews or for educational purposes, doesn't cause a problem with copyright. (A few words from a poem or song lyric can be a bigger issue, but even there, quoting to ask a question shouldn't create any difficulty.)
Thanks, that makes sense