were

were — verb

1. Were is the past-tense form of the verb 'be' that you use when the subject is 'y

1.verbintransitiveA1
Definition

Were is the past-tense form of the verb 'be' that you use when the subject is 'you', 'we', 'they', or a plural noun. It also appears in the subjunctive mood after words like 'if' and 'wish' to talk about imaginary, unreal, or desired situations.

Example

The children were playing in the garden when Walid arrived with a birthday cake.

were + -ing (past continuous)

You were right about the traffic, Niran — taking the back road saved us thirty minutes.

you were + adjective

Grammar Patterns

were + noun / adjective / prepositional phrase

were + -ing (past continuous)

were + past participle (past passive)

If + subject + were + complement (subjunctive)

I wish + subject + were + complement (subjunctive)

Usage Note

Were is the only past-tense verb form used with 'you' — 'you was' is non-standard and incorrect in formal English. In the subjunctive mood (after 'if', 'as if', 'I wish'), use 'were' even with singular subjects like 'I', 'he', 'she', or 'it'. In everyday informal speech, many speakers use 'was' instead (e.g. 'If I was you'), but 'were' is the form expected in formal writing and examinations.

Common Mistakes

You was at the party last night.
You were at the party last night.
The pronoun 'you' always pairs with 'were' in the past tense, never with 'was'.
If I was rich, I would travel the world.' (informal)
If I were rich, I would travel the world.
In formal English, use 'were' for hypothetical conditions, not 'was'.
She were happy with the result.' (for factual past)
She was happy with the result.
Use 'was' (not 'were') with singular subjects like 'she' when stating real past facts.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Both 'was' and 'were' are past-tense forms of the verb 'be', but they pair with different subjects. 'Was' is used with 'I', 'he', 'she', 'it', and singular nouns (e.g. 'He was tired'). 'Were' is used with 'you', 'we', 'they', and plural nouns (e.g. 'They were tired'). In the subjunctive mood, however, 'were' replaces 'was' even with singular subjects to express unreality or desire — for example, 'If she were here' (imaginary) contrasts with 'She was here' (factual). The subjunctive 'were' is required in formal writing and common in phrases like 'If I were you' and 'I wish it were true'.

was ↗were ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Were comes from Old English 'wǣron', the past-tense plural form of the verb 'wesan' ('to be'). This traces back to the Proto-Germanic root *wēzun- and further to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂wes- ('to dwell, to remain, to spend the night'), which also gave rise to the modern English verb 'be' through a separate path.