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were

[ wur; unstressed wer; British also wair ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb

a second person singular past indicative; first, second, and third person plural past indicative; and past subjunctive of be.

we're

[ weer ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

contraction of we are:
We're happy to see you.

were

/ wɜː; wə /

verb

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

we're

/ ��ɪə /

contraction of

we are

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Usage Note

See contraction.

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Usage

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

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Grammar Note

See subjunctive.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of were¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ��ǣ�� past subjunctive, ��ǣ�� 2nd-person singular past and ��ǣ��ǲ� 2nd-person plural past of wesan “to be”; cognate with Dutch, German waren, Danish var. See was

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Word History and Origins

Origin of were¹

Old English wērun, wæron past tense plural of wesan to be; related to Old Norse vera, Old Frisian weria, Old High German �ɱ��ō�� to last

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A longtime Altadenan, Garcia moved to the community as a child because it was one of the few places where her parents — who were Japanese and Mexican — were able to buy a home.

From

Some of the reports did qualify California’s ranking, by acknowledging that it would be germane if California were a country, not a state.

From

“Making people the protagonist of their own stories where they’re fully human, fully realized and beautiful and complicated and difficult and wonderful, because those were not the kinds of roles that were available to us.”

From

Baffert was reinstated after he accepted responsibility for the positive test and all legal challenges were exhausted.

From

The 32 teams selected for Division 1 will get to say they were part of the toughest bracket ever.

From

wept weren't

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