I'm sure we've had this topic recently, but I couldn't find it, so, I'll ask again.

I think the phrase - 'by this time the couple were in difficulty' sounds better than - 'by this time the couple was in difficulty'.

However, I keep hearing people use 'the couple was' or 'the couple is' but it sounds so wrong! The couple are, or the couple were, just seems to flow better.

So, which is correct and does it matter?

Kat x

The couple were in difficulty because it's two of them. The couple was in difficulty because it's one shared problem. On that basis, either could be correct.

<Added>

Although I'd say the first is correct: the couple were...

I'd be tempted to say 'the couple was...' is technically the correct option because 'the couple' is a single unit as such, if that makes any sense. Like 'the crowd was...' rather than 'the crowd were...'. I do know what you mean about were sounding better though, and I could be completely wrong!
Alex x

I'd say that, strictly speaking, both might be admissible: 'were' because 'couple' represents a plural number of individuals and 'was' because 'couple' can also represent a single unit.

However, in British English usage at any rate, 'were' is without question the one to use. Anything else would sound horrifically stilted. Imagine saying 'The couple was very happy' and you'll see what I mean.

Oddly enough, once this sort of word (like 'couple', 'pair', etc.) applies to more than two people or things, (like 'group', 'herd', etc.) the use of 'was' can sound much more acceptable.

Chris

Yes, it's entirely correct to treat a pair of things as either singular or plural, depending on the sense involved. Fowler has lots of details, but I'm away from home. At least it is in Br English. US English is much more doctrinaire, and insists on it being singular even when the sense makes it sound downright peculiar.

Emma