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

On the table, you can see that the margins for these two companies were much lower a year ago.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

She cites a survey, for instance, in which second-generation Nigerian immigrants were asked what being American meant to them: Seventy percent responded that they believed in the American Dream.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Several people contacted Translink via social media to report problems with packed buses and trains, or to say they could not board services as they were already full.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Positive contributions to the ETI were led by the share of small firms reporting that jobs are “not able to be filled right now” and initial claims for unemployment insurance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Then, about five minutes later, Arlo and some of his friends were running around and accidentally bumped the table.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

This shows that we’re in the midst of an earnings-driven bull market.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

"I feel like we're like sisters," says Hunter Bell.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

“Our marketing efforts are not delivering what we want. But that would not suggest that we would pull back from the marketing spend…. We need to adjust while we’re going forward.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

With parts of the globe aflame in wildfires, deadly heat waves parking over cities, record hot oceans and a strengthening super El Niño, it seems like we’re baking through the hottest year on record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Isn’t that what we’re going to do on the trail?

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes