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[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

I subscribed to pishu_pravilno because I thought it would be an interesting way to learn about mistakes native speakers make/questions they want to clarify. Here's one where I don't understand the reasoning: the question is, ""группа беженцев, в которой былО 18 человек"... Или "былИ 18 человек"?" (A group of refugees in which there were 18 people; the questioner wants to know whether you should use the neuter form or the plural form of "byit'"). All of the answers suggest using былo; can you clarify why? Thanks! Link to original question here: http://community.livejournal.com/pishu_pravilno/2703171.html