Kengwen (kengwen) wrote in linguaphiles,
Kengwen
kengwen
linguaphiles

settle an argument?

I doubt if any of you were expecting to hear four speeches today.
I doubt if any of you was expecting to hear four speeches today.

Which of those is correct? Any is the subject and is singular (sub in any one of you to see this is true). You is plural but is part of a prepositional phrase and not actually the subject.
BUT...do subjunctive rules kick in here to make it were, or is was correct?

Thanks

ETA: okay, if = subjunctive.
What about "I doubt anyone here was/were expecting to hear four speeches today."?
The if is still there (though implied I guess, removed for redundancy). Would it still be were then? That sounds so off.
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  • Nose as a primarium of knowledge

    No one would have challenged my title if I had added "for dogs and other animals". However, I am writing about the human nose. After all, the…

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    This golden "ring" was found in the Bulgarian village of Ezerovo, located near the city of Plovdiv, in 1912. ΡΟΛΙΣΤΕΝΕΑΣΝ / ΕΡΕΝΕΑΤΙΛ / ΤΕΑΝΗΣΚΟΑ…

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