My friend posted a selfie on Facebook exemplifying the difficulties of short people shopping for pants. We’re both short—like “have to jump to see what’s on the top shelf at the grocery store” short. I started to comment on her post about my favorite pair of ankle-length jeans (which was definitely floor-length on me) when I paused mid-sentence with a brain cramp: Should I use “were” or “was” with “pair” when talking about my go-to jeans from high school?