word choice - "There were only 4" versus "There was only 4"?


I used the sentence "there was only 4 channels on tele" (reminiscing about the good old days before digital TV!), but I wasn't sure if I was right, so tried were instead of was.


It still doesn't feel right, even though I found an article that stated that, as the subject was plural and came after the verb, it should be were- but it still doesn't feel right! I've got it in my head that if I had just said channels it would be were, but as I said "only 4 channels" it should be was.


Should I use were or was?




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