Singular or plural verb when subject is plural but subject complement is single?

Question

Should the verb be singular or plural in this sentence: "The 1830s were a time" versus "The 1830s was a time"?

Answer 1

The 1830s were a time of great difficulty.

Any decade includes 10 years (here 1830-1839) so use the plural.

I won't swear this is technically correct, but since you put an "s" after 1830, I think most people would use a plural verb anyway.

If you wrote something like:

The last decade was very positive for us.

then use the singular.