Was supposed to have vs Were supposed to have taken

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Was supposed to have' is used when referring to a singular subject, while 'were supposed to have taken' is used when referring to plural subjects. The choice between them depends on the subject of the sentence.

Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 761 views

This phrase is correct when referring to a singular subject in the past.

"Was supposed to have"

Use 'was supposed to have' when talking about something that was expected or intended to happen in the past for a singular subject.

Examples:

He was supposed to have finished his homework by now.
She was supposed to have arrived at the meeting early.

Show examples from the web [+]

Your path through the world this morning was supposed to have been adjusted.
Someone was supposed to have lured him up here for a drink.
I was supposed to have all night to practice.
I was supposed to have an aneurysm, but you killed me instead.
Freddy was supposed to have some papers for me.
This was supposed to have been Errol Flynn's house.
This framework decision was supposed to have been transposed by August 2004.
A meet was supposed to have taken place at this house.
Security was supposed to have covered them with plywood, but they thought nobody would come through that door.
I mean, she was supposed to have moved her stuff out of the flat today.
My wife was supposed to have tidied up before she went to work.
Father's day... No, I was supposed to have custody of Jericho and Cherokee today.
We were leaving the ship that was supposed to have sustained us for our first two years on Mars.
Was supposed to have three events here in the next week.
I was supposed to have eyes on Dalton.
CTU was supposed to have raided the terminal by now.
This was supposed to have chunks of real carrot in it.
This was supposed to have 20 bricks of RDX here.
I was supposed to have game night with Ellie and Awesome.
I was supposed to have game night with Ellie and Awesome.

Alternatives:

was supposed to
was meant to have
was expected to have

This phrase is correct when referring to plural subjects in the past.

"Were supposed to have taken"

Use 'were supposed to have taken' when talking about something that a group of people were expected or intended to do in the past.

Examples:

They were supposed to have taken the trash out yesterday.
The students were supposed to have completed the assignment by last week.

Show examples from the web [+]

Oct 19, 2013 ... It's hard to believe that eleven years worth of stories were supposed to have taken place in the three years of the Korean War. To get around ...
... drinkers and underage drinkers closely tracks the population of that group over the period of time that the law's effects were supposed to have taken place.
In the appeal on 18 June 2004, De Berk's conviction for the seven murders and three attempted murders was upheld. The crimes were supposed to have taken ...
The events were supposed to have taken place in 1993. You can see the teams wearing Under Armour gear but UA wasn't made public until 1995-1996 and it ...

Alternatives:

were supposed to take
were meant to have taken
were expected to have taken

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Was supposed to have vs Were supposed to have taken