Showing results for "were"

• 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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

were we're

The successful flotation raised about $8.5 billion for the 7% of shares that were offered although the over-allotment of shares, allows underwriters to increase that to around $10 billion.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

The retailer had previously sought to go public in New York and considered a listing in London, but those efforts were derailed by escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

While LGBTQ+ voices were far from silent, especially in a city like New York, the idea that their perspectives could inform broader conversations was not as widespread as it has become.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Lawmakers were denied entry when they tried to perform their mandated oversight duties at immigrant detention facilities.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

In the interview, she shares memories of Japanese soldiers, some of whom were kind to her.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

“They need to get off their behinds and get in the voting booth and vote. It’s the only way we’re going to turn this around now,” he said.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

"But younger sharks like to be in warmer waters, and so we're seeing sharks closer to shore."

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

"I could relate to them, we're the same age, going through the same things."

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

And, in real time, we’re watching wannabe masters of the AI universe try to win an upper hand in controlling the new technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

We swap book recommendations as we walk out of the library, and it comes out that we’re both in the honors track for ninth grade, so hopefully we’ll have some classes together.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison