were

verb
UK: /wɜː/
US: /wɜːr/

  1. Past tense of 'be', used with 'you', 'we', 'they', or plural nouns to describe a state or condition in the past.

    1. They were at the park yesterday after school. [ ] [ ]
    2. My friends were planning a surprise party for me last month. [ ] [ ]

  2. Used in conditional sentences to describe a hypothetical or unreal situation in the past or present.

    1. If I were rich, I would travel the world. [ ] [ ]
    2. Even if they were to offer me the job, I'm not sure I'd take it. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "were" in English means: Past tense of 'be', used with 'you', 'we', 'they', or plural nouns to describe a state or condition in the past., Used in conditional sentences to describe a hypothetical or unreal situation in the past or present..

The phonetic transcription of "were" is /wɜː/ in British English and /wɜːr/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Example usage of "were": "They were at the park yesterday after school.". More examples on the page.