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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:

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

Those are just the cards that were dealt.

From Salon • May 1, 2026

The government earlier this week encouraged bakers to work on May 1, saying they were "indispensable to the continuity of social life".

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

The inspector-general’s office told MarketWatch that those estimates were based on sampling payments made to beneficiaries in the past two years, though the figures are thought to represent total cumulative underpayments to the beneficiaries.

From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026

When, in 2014, Macquarie Island was finally cleared of rabbits, rats, mice and feral cats, which were killing 60,000 seabirds annually, populations rebounded to about 3.5 million seabirds of 13 species.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Then they were all running along past her, the truck was bouncing, being bumped by this huge herd, this family of bison, this clan.

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