Showing results for "were"

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

Jump To:

• 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:

Trivia Time

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

Test Your Knowledge

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.

---

we're ² American  

[weer] / wɪər /

1. contraction of we are:

   We're happy to see you.

---

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

---

we're ² British  

/ wɪə /

contraction

1. we are

---

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 BBC understands the former employees were not let go for raising safety concerns but for allegedly mishandling sensitive information.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

“But as much as I do want to acknowledge what occurred, and acknowledge the people who were injured, the people who died, those images don’t help you answer the question you are here to answer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Members of the T1D Fund board who resigned or were dismissed deny that they tried to separate from the foundation, they said in their own letter sent to donors and reviewed by WSJ Pro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Prosecutors charged Linton under an “implied malice” theory, meaning Linton is guilty if she knew her actions were dangerous to human life but undertook them anyway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

All these changes were brought on by a hole through a specific part of his brain.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

“Whereas the lower market, let’s just say closer to a half a million and below, is really struggling where we’re getting lots of showings and no activity, no offers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

They reply with a swift, “No, we’re staying here,” as they remain hopeful and enthused about the performance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Without him opening the door, we're probably not speaking here right now," he said, adding that he "can't even start saying our gratitude for this human being".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

More than two decades after these aired, we’ve swerved between an age of unattainable thinness being pushed as a cultural ideal and a time of healthy-at-any-size body positivity from which we’re slowly regressing.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

When we’re more than halfway home, Jonah shakes his head.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison