I'd like a second opinion at least. Should the verb in this sentence be was or were?
All he remembered was / were his multiplication tables.
At first I was thinking that all is singular so it should be "All he remembered was...." But then I remembered that all is an expression of quantity and agrees with what it's describing, as in "All of the book is good" or "All of the books are good."
Here I think the verb should be were because be is acting as a linking verb. In this case "All" should agree with the subject complement, right? Other examples:
All he remembered was his name.
All he remembered were his multiplication tables.
All he remembered was / were his multiplication tables.
At first I was thinking that all is singular so it should be "All he remembered was...." But then I remembered that all is an expression of quantity and agrees with what it's describing, as in "All of the book is good" or "All of the books are good."
Here I think the verb should be were because be is acting as a linking verb. In this case "All" should agree with the subject complement, right? Other examples:
All he remembered was his name.
All he remembered were his multiplication tables.