Showing results for "were"

• an inflection of be.
• an inflection of be.
• an inflection of be.

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• were
  were

  verb

  a second person singular past indicative; first, second, and third person plural past indicative; and past subjunctive of be.
• we're
  we're

  contraction of we are:

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Were appears in the word werewolf. What was the original meaning of this instance of were?

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were

¹ American  

[wur, wer, wair] / wɜr, wər, wɛər /

verb

1. a second person singular past indicative; first, second, and third person plural past indicative; and past subjunctive of be.

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we're ² American  

[weer] / wɪər /

1. contraction of we are:

   We're happy to see you.

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were ¹ British  

/ wɜː, wə /

verb

1. the plural form of the past tense (indicative mood) of be and the singular form used with you. It is also used as a subjunctive, esp in conditional sentences

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we're ² British  

/ wɪə /

contraction

1. we are

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Grammar

See subjunctive.

Usage

See contraction.

Were, as a remnant of the past subjunctive in English, is used in formal contexts in clauses expressing hypotheses ( if he were to die, she would inherit everything ), suppositions contrary to fact ( if I were you, I would be careful ), and desire ( I wish he were there now ). In informal speech, however, was is often used instead

Etymology

Origin of were

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English wǣre past subjunctive, wǣre 2nd-person singular past and wǣron 2nd-person plural past of wesan “to be”; cognate with Dutch, German waren, Danish var. See was

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

were we're

After the children were taken into custody by the Department of Children and Family Services last year they were “scared to go to the park because they hadn’t been outside,” Teymouri said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Experts say it is too early to judge the outcome of the transfers, especially considering the whales were facing euthanasia and had been living in an ageing facility.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The defendants never opened the box, according to Teymouri, who said Xuan and Zhang were “indifferent” to the well-being of their children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

They were first named to help bring public attention to episodes of severe weather, to help people prepare to avoid the worst impacts by planning ahead.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Dr. Bigelow and his fellow Whole Brainers say that Phineas would surely have died if specific areas of the brain were vital to specific functions.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

"Don't be expecting this mad expansive style of free-for-all but we're going to put some stuff in there that we've not done previously."

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

“We might have different ideologies, but we’re more alike than we are unalike, so maybe somebody who votes blue will identify with someone who votes red and vice versa.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But we’re living in a time of hair transplants, peptides and body contouring, all appealing to men who want to optimize their appearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

And we took our cue, having done all this research into stuff that Elon said, from something he kept going over again: This idea that we’re likely living in a simulation.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

He’s risen from his kneeling position; we’re squaring off against each other in his small garret room.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

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