Question

the principal together with his staff , ________ present (was /were)

Answer 1

Answer is:- Was.

I hope it will help you.

Answer 2

The principal together with his staff were present.

Was vs Were

Whereas was is the singular past tense of to be, were is the plural past tense of the third person (they and we) as well as the second person past tense (you).

Acts similar to were performed in the past indicative. For example, you could say, "They were at the store." It can also be used as an auxiliary verb, as in "They went to the supermarket looking for spices."

With were, though, things get a bit more tricky, and it's all thanks to this thing called the subjunctive mood.

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