Do I use 'was' or 'were' in these 2 sentences

[Melf]

Do I use 'was' or 'were' in these 2 sentences?

1: My most recent series of events were working with....

2 : The challenge of producing these events were fulfilling an ambitious brief

If the person answering can briefly explain why as well that would be great

Thanks

[geordief]

Do I use 'was' or 'were' in these 2 sentences?

1: My most recent series of events were working with....

2 : The challenge of producing these events were fulfilling an ambitious brief

If the person answering can briefly explain why as well that would be great

Thanks

1: can be either "was" or "were" but the meaning of the sentence changes accordingly. (that is because "series" can be singular or plural as it ends in an "s"- you could , for example, say " "a particular series" or "more than one series")
So the "were" refers back to "series" and not to "events" even though that word ("events") lies directly before it ("were")in the sentence.

So in this case either "was" or "were" would be grammatically correct but the meaning of the sentence would change accordingly

2:(this is easier as "challenge" is unambiguously singular).
You must use "was" here as "was" refers to "challenge" and not to "events"

I am confident that my answer is correct I hope that made sense to you .

[konungursvia]

Do I use 'was' or 'were' in these 2 sentences?

1: My most recent series of events were working with....

2 : The challenge of producing these events were fulfilling an ambitious brief

If the person answering can briefly explain why as well that would be great

Thanks

Both are wrong, and require "was."

[geordief]

Both are wrong, and require "was."

what even if there are 3 or 4 series of events? (series can be in the plural meaning)

[konungursvia]

what even if there are 3 or 4 series of events? (series can be in the plural meaning)

I agree with you in part. One can say "these two series are...." but if unspecified, the reading is singular in my opinion.

[AnshulChauhan]

Series is always treated as a singular noun unless followed by the number or count.
Its like saying there are two cars or there is a car...

[5jj]

I agree with you in part. One can say "these two series are...." but if unspecified, the reading is singular in my opinion.

I think that the singular reading is more likely, but I also think it's a bit harsh to say that the plural reading is wrong. It isn't wrong; it's possible. geordief gave a sound response, in my opinion.

[bagzi94]

I was.
You were.
He/She/It was.

We were.
You were.
They were.

But: If I were you.

[AnshulChauhan]

I were you is a different case.
Were is used with singular when one wishes for something.

[adidasagam]

I think that we can also use were, for third person and I, in some conditional sentences.