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 Lakers and Thunder were two of the NBA’s hottest teams in March.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Bezuidenhout said some of that impact was mitigated by the fact that 20-50% of Aurigny's fuel volumes were "hedged out at fixed pricing".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Traders were pricing in a 77.6% chance that the Fed will remain on hold in December, up from 76.3% on Thursday, while also seeing a small but increased probability of a rate hike by year-end.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

It wasn’t an easy ask, but patients had been avoiding so many things for so long that their worlds had gotten smaller and many were willing to try something, even if it felt drastic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

At lunch, we switched our face makeup so that we were different members of KISS.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith