Showing results for "were"

• 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:

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

After reviewing the available literature, they identified six published reports covering five randomized controlled trials, in which participants received either creatine or a placebo without knowing which treatment they were taking.

From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026

Both Ferraris simply lacked pace and grip in Austria, and they were the only top team to do a three-stop strategy.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

Two studies were judged to have a low risk of bias, while the remaining three raised some concerns, primarily related to participant assignment and missing data.

From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026

The first thing to point out is that their grid positions were not representative.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

Many nations in the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia were either ruled or occupied by Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly