Showing results for "were"

• an inflection of be.
• 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

While domestic trips in China were up 5.4% in the first half of 2026 from the same period last year, domestic tourism spending grew by only 2% to around $478 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Thought I’d be a lot more rusty,” he said, adding that things were “clicking.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Also on hand were both Los Angeles mayoral candidates: incumbent Bass and challenger Nithya Raman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

"We started this a few months ago after newspapers were not allowed for packing as it's bad for health," he says.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

In Manila, the capital city where Joey now lives, lepers were once required to wear hoods and cloaks and ring a bell to announce their presence.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

"A message to the promoters - we want to host it in London. Talk to us, we're really keen to have it," Khan told BBC Sport on Thursday.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

"Oh yeah we're definitely pushing for that," he told reporters.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

That’s come down a bit because we’re starting to impose draft restrictions, which reduce the amount of cargo ships can carry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

As we’re only talking about $7,000, liquidating the IRA may well be the simplest practical solution.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

“He’s finding out how much we’re charging so he can undersell us!”

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom