The United States was vs The United States were

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'The United States was' is used when referring to the country as a singular entity, while 'The United States were' is used when referring to the country as a collection of states or a group of people. The choice between 'was' and 'were' depends on whether you are treating the United States as a singular or plural noun.

Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 8112 views

The United States was

This phrase is correct when referring to the United States as a singular entity.

Use 'the United States was' when talking about the country as a single entity or when focusing on the nation as a whole.

Examples:

The United States was founded in 1776.
During the war, the United States was a key ally.

Show examples from the web [+]

Jul 3, 2009 ... I always took it for granted that the use of singular verbs with "the United States" was just one another example of the North American penchant.
Oct 6, 2009 ... The EU is a loose connection of independent states with a weak centralized authority, much like the United States was before the Civil War…
"There was a time a few years ago when the United States was spoken of in the plural number," reads an article published April 24th, 1887, in The Washington ...
The United States was at first effectively neutral during World War II's early stages but began supplying material to the Allies in March 1941 through the ...

Alternatives:

the United States is
the United States has

The United States were

This phrase is correct when referring to the United States as a collection of states or a group of people.

Use 'the United States were' when emphasizing the individual states or the people within the country.

Examples:

The United States were divided on the issue.
In the past, the United States were not as powerful.

Show examples from the web [+]

Oct 6, 2009 ... From 1776 to 1789 the United States were a confederation; after 1789 it was a federal nation. The passage from plural to singular was ...
"Men said 'the United States are' — 'the United States have' — 'the United States were.' But the war changed all that." The quote continues (emphasis added):.
By that date, a total of 13.5 percent of all blacks in the United States were free. After that date, with the demand for slaves on the rise because of the Deep South's ...
After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the two most powerful countries left in the world. The Cold War was a period of tension between ...

Alternatives:

the United States are
the United States have

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

The United States was vs The United States were