Minutes were vs minutes was

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Minutes were" is used when referring to a plural subject, while "minutes was" is used when referring to a singular subject.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 2120 views

This phrase is correct when referring to a plural subject.

"Minutes were"

Use "minutes were" when the subject is plural, such as "The minutes were well spent."

Examples:

The minutes were ticking by slowly.
The meeting minutes were distributed to all team members.
The minutes were carefully recorded by the secretary.
The minutes were approved by the board.
The minutes were missing from the file.

Show examples from the web [+]

His ten minutes were up two minutes ago.
(Applause) (The Minutes were approved)
(The Minutes were approved) Now, following our usual practice, I shall address the House in order to open the debate on the state of the Union.
Tuesday's Minutes were approved, as is usual, the following day.
Mr President, before the Minutes were approved I tried to catch your attention concerning a point of order that was raised yesterday by Mr Imaz.
(? he Minutes were approved)
Mr President, yesterday I managed to reach the Chamber just as the Minutes were being agreed - I had been attending another meeting.
I would also ask you to bear in mind the fact that no objections were made concerning this vote when the Minutes were submitted for approval on the following day.
All five minutes were a blast.
Secondly, there was no red light after two minutes were up.
Nevertheless, only 20 minutes were set aside for both speakers.
The first 30 minutes were with the other group leaders.
As for my dad, those five minutes were spent contemplating how to kill Grandma Mazur and where to bury the body.
So the cigarettes in 5-10 minutes were gone, I told him, 'Get up.
When the five minutes were over, I would say, Please shred the piece of paper.
Their existence and the claim that they could be used within 45 minutes were central to the case for war.
In Helsinki, only three minutes were taken to discuss the question as to whether Turkey should obtain candidate status.
I waited until the two minutes were up, and then I indicated that to Mr Alavanos.
Fifteen minutes were allowed and two minutes per Group, without realizing that that would not be enough.
Mr President, I would like to bring your attention to another problem on a point of order. I did not ask to speak this morning when the minutes were approved, because yesterday's session seemed to me to be correctly recorded.

Alternatives:

hours were
days were
months were
years were
seconds were

This phrase is correct when referring to a singular subject.

"minutes was"

Use "minutes was" when the subject is singular, such as "Each minute was precious."

Examples:

Each minute was carefully planned.
The last minute was crucial for the team.
The minute was filled with tension.
The minute was lost in thought.
A minute was all it took to change everything.

Show examples from the web [+]

- And the last 20 minutes was a revelation.
In the single-dose dog infusion studies, 1.0 mg/ kg (6 fold the recommended human therapeutic exposure based on AUC) administered over 15 minutes was well tolerated with no renal effects.
He came off duty and within minutes was nearly dead from a wound in his stomach, but there was no weapon.
In patients with class II disease, Tracleer caused the resistance of the blood vessels to decrease by 23% compared with placebo after six months of treatment, but the distance the patients could walk over six minutes was similar in the two groups.
By the time I'd done that, my ten minutes was up.
Even though Henry knew 90 minutes was illogical... the more he thought about her prognosis, her curse... the more it took on weight.
When the five minutes was up, I cranked the truck.
Peak plasma concentration (Cmax) observed in 17 subjects following a single intravenous dose of 1500 mg infused over 15 minutes was 51 ± 19 µg/ mL (arithmetic average ± standard deviation).
15 minutes was all I needed, guv.
How many minutes was I dead for?
Watching him for 2 minutes was enough!
Look, I mean, doing that for a couple of minutes was one thing, but I don't think I can lie to my mom for an entire dinner.
According to the logs, the only person that entered the building within the past 20 minutes was Pillar.
According to the 9-11 Commission, although the conversation lasted 23 minutes, only 4 and a half minutes was recorded.
While no analysis of 30% and 50% responders at 10 and 15 minutes was conducted in the interim analysis, this analysis was requested from the sponsor in the final clinical study report.
For reasons of which some of you will be aware, the approval of yesterday's Minutes was postponed.
He'd watch TV but anything longer than a couple of minutes was too confusing,...
The grey light of Arctic day which lasted only ten minutes was already fading.

Alternatives:

hour was
day was
month was
year was
second was

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Minutes were vs minutes was

"Minutes were"

"minutes was"

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