- Were is the past tense of be.
An example of were is what a student would say if he was telling his mother that he and his friends had studied yesterday.
- Second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative of be.
- Past subjunctive of be . See Usage Notes at if, wish.
Origin of wereMiddle English were, weren, from Old English w&aemac;re, w&aemac;ren, w&aemac;ron; see wes-1 in Indo-European roots. Our Living Language Although many irregular verbs in English once had different singular and plural forms in the past tense, only one still does today—be, which uses the form was with singular subjects and the form were with plural subjects, as well as with singular you. The relative simplicity in the forms of most verbs reflects the long-standing tendency of English speakers to make irregular verbs more regular by reducing the number of forms used with different persons, numbers, and tenses. Since past be is so irregular, speakers of different vernacular dialects have regularized it in several ways. In the United States, most vernacular speakers regularize past be by using was with all subjects, whether singular or plural. This pattern is most common in Southern-based dialects, particularly African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Some speakers use were with both singular and plural subjects; thus, one may hear she were alongside we were. However, this usage has been much less widespread than the use of was with plural subjects and appears to be fading. • In some scattered regions in the South, particularly in coastal areas of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, vernacular speakers may regularize past be as was in positive contexts and regularize it as weren't in negative contexts, as in He was a good man, weren't he? or They sure was nice people, weren't they? At first glance, the was/weren't pattern appears to come from England, where it is fairly commonplace. However, in-depth study of the was/weren't pattern in coastal North Carolina indicates that it may have developed independently, for it is found to a greater extent in the speech of younger speakers than in that of older coastal residents. • Other forms of negative past be include warn't, common in American folk speech in the 1700s and 1800s, and wont, as in It wont me or They wont home. Wont, which often sounds just like the contraction won't, historically has been concentrated in New England and is also found in scattered areas of the South.
- Second-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
- John, you were the only person to see him.
- First-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
- We were about to leave.
- Second-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
- Mary and John, you were right.
- Third-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
- They were a fine group.
- They were to be the best of friends from that day on.
- Simple imperfect subjunctive in all persons of be.
- I wish that it were Sunday.
- I wish that I were with you.
- 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, BBC Sport:
- Maccabi would have been out of contention were it not for Stoke's profligacy, but their fortune eventually ran out as the visitors opened the scoring.
- (Northern England) was.
Old English wǣre.
- man; prefix most commonly used with animal names to indicate a person who changes shape into that animal.
Variant of be
intransitive verbwas or were, been, being
- to exist; live: Caesar is no more to happen or occur: when will the wedding be? to remain or continue: will he be here long? to come to; belong: peace be with you to have a place or position: the door is on your left
- as a copula, be links its subject to a predicate nominative, adjective, or pronoun so as to express attribution or identity, and by extension, value, cause, signification, etc.; it is sometimes equivalent to the mathematical sign (=): Mrs. Siddons was an actress; he is handsome; that hat is fifty dollars; let x be y
Origin of beMiddle English been, beon ; from Old English beon: be is a defective verb with parts from three unrelated stems: 1) the Indo-European substantive verb, base an unverified form es-, as in am, is, Sanskrit ásmi, asti, Gothic im, ist; 2) Indo-European base an unverified form wes-, stay, remain, as in was, were, Sanskrit vasati, (he) lingers, stays, Gothic wisan, was, wēsum, remain, be; 3) Indo-European base an unverified form bheu-, grow, become, (it) occurs, is there, Classical Latin fieri, as in be, been, Sanskrit bhávati, be, become: see bondage
- used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: he will be sued
- Archaic used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense: Christ is risen
- used with the present participle of another verb to express continuation: the player is running with the ball
- used with the present participle or infinitive of another verb to express futurity, possibility, obligation, intention, etc.: he is starting next week, you are to help him
Archaic go away!