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

Example Sentences

The CIA’s efforts in China were devastated when nearly two dozen assets were executed or imprisoned more than a decade ago, leaving the agency struggling to rebuild its human espionage capabilities in China.

From The Wall Street Journal

The findings were published on Feb. 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

From Science Daily

Both were found dead at a local residence, police said.

From BBC

Investors were more disappointed by Cisco’s margin forecast and the way it’s being impacted by high memory prices, he added.

From MarketWatch

They were abandoned by their mother shortly after birth, later adopted, and Joey was always a difficult child.

From The Wall Street Journal