were in a sentence

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. The troops were in battle array. We stomp about the office with a great wad of paperwork when, really, The time to build an ark is before the raging flood is upon us, not after, But any time we can let the public know that what, We started jogging and got to the top of the street, We've had a lot of problems with kangaroos and wallabies, but, Of course, while these cheques sit in our wallets and purses, they aren't earning us money, so. It only takes a minute to sign up. This is not subjunctive, and it indicates an uncertain past: something that might have happened in the past, or it might not. There are several reasons why you might be struggling to decide whether you should be using “was” or “were” in a sentence. Where were you going? Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange! site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. Which pronoun would you use? Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. There were two cakes. This is one of the grammatical differences between the present-tense verb versions and the past-tense verb versions of the construction "BE to Verb". How can you tell if it's safe to hang weight from the ceiling? Jonathan Oldstyle and Diedrich Knickerbocker are the subjects of the sentence. A sure sign that you should use the subjunctive is when the word wish is used. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. It's good that all our strikers are scoring and, with the other players chipping in too, Yes, in the past, we may have thrown the gauntlet on occasion and gotten all up in his business, but, It looks like it was a simple rewrite of the Sunday Times piece though, so, My friends and I have been playing golf for years, but, Daily Beast contributor Dr. Kent Sepkowitz joined The Colbert Report last night to talk Ebola and whether, We'll work her slow, soften her up and have some yucks while, Whether we buy, dry or wet lease is something. 1, If the beard were all, the goat might preach. Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. Its counterpart, ‘were’, is used when the subject of the sentence is plural, and the action or condition that is expressed has already been completed or the event happened in the past. Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange! Should I use “was” or “were” in the following sentence? Read on to learn more! rev 2020.11.13.37998, The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, English Language Learners Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us, Perhaps someone could actually form an answer to this specific OP's question. ), It is not duplicate I have asked about Were to and was to, Meaning using “was to” and “were to” in sentence, Feature Preview: New Review Suspensions Mod UX, Creating new Help Center documents for Review queues: Project overview, “if the train was leaving” vs. “if the train were leaving” (indicative vs. subjunctive): difference in meaning. If I was stronger than you, then I never took advantage of it. Trips to refuges like Montezuma or Jamaica Bay are revelatory, but ultimately, I wish the commentators would tell us what. don’t know why do people bother with an essay when they could just write the summary. (The subject is dog, a singular noun.) "Difference Between Are and Were." uses both words, which sound and are spelled similarly, but are entirely different. The straightforward answer is that, since there are two subjects, the subject is plural, and you should use were: Milk and eggs were required to make the recipe. Should I use was or were with a two-item list? We're not so sure, but if there's some cut-price groceries out there. (Note that your #B and #C versions don't have the "BE to Verb" in a conditional. As the recession set in, temporary employees were laid off one after another. 4, If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. A several billion dollars project to stop people from sneezing, besides full hazmat suits? We were very tired. Is “if they could be” conditional? They were very excited. You're going to accept their recommendation, especially if, price-wise, The two contenders have said we have to take their hand if, Alliteration abounds, pithy epithets are the order of the day, the cliches of journalese are flowing till. If so, chances are you have a nice, clear sentence, written in active voice. We will examine how to use was or were, and look at some examples of the use of the words was and were in a sentence or two. You can say, ‘My grandparents were the sweetest folks I’ve ever met’. This means that, usually, #A would have the same meaning as the version in your #3: BUT since your example sounds like an excerpt from fiction prose that is using past-tense narrative mode (that is, past-tense verbs are used to describe a currently unfolding scene to the reader), that #3a version would most likely be interpreted as an open conditional (not a remote conditional as the author had wanted). How should I call each item when two of them have to be compared to each other? Why do these angles look weird in my logo? Jonathan Oldstyle and Diedrich Knickerbocker were two of Irving's pen name. How to manage a remote team member who appears to not be working their full hours? Thank you. And so, they will probably be satisfactorily answered by the usual grammar books.). I am very concerned about what the president has put forth, although again, It becomes so routine where I work though, that, A zippy lunch stop, a swop of cars into the manual version and, And I think gathering the intelligence, getting the pictures, intercepting communications is what, We're taking another day here just to make sure. Keep this rule in mind when trying to decide whether to use was, were or some other form of the verb to be. Does learning the same spell from different sources allow it to benefit from bonuses from all sources? Hope they are understand the difference,those who were not understand the difference between these two. 48 34 On the table wereplates, knives and forks, and dishes of bread, meat and fruits. and updated on May 15, 2017, Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, Differences Between Fraternity And Sorority, Difference Between Helping And Linking Verbs, Difference Between Regular and Irregular Verbs, Differences Between Intelligence and Wisdom, Difference Between Free Speech and Call to Action, Difference Between Conformity and Nonconformity, Difference Between Quarantine and Self Isolation, Difference Between Unimodal and Bimodal Distribution, Difference Between Vitamin D and Vitamin D3, Difference Between LCD and LED Televisions, Difference Between Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, Difference Between Civil War and Revolution. If you remove "to", there are some distinctions between the forms "if I were" and "if I was". Were you out last night? Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. The verb ‘are’ is the plural variation of the verb ‘be’ and is used in sentences where the subject is plural or plural in form and the action or condition happens in the present. His most attractive trait/s was/were his eyes. How can I seal a gap between floor joist boxes and foundation? Are bleach solutions still routinely used in biochemistry laboratories to rid surfaces of bacteria, viruses, certain enzymes and nucleic acids? Is there objective proof that Jo Jorgensen stopped Trump winning, like a right-wing Ralph Nader? Were in a sentence. What did Pete Stewart think he knew about efficient implementation of floating point denormals? 3. Has there been a naval battle where a boarding attempt backfired? Wearing jeans rather than shorts, and sneakers rather than zoris. Why does a flight from Melbourne to Cape Town need to go via Doha? However, generally speaking, the verb ‘are’ is used when the subject of the sentence involves two or more persons or objects. All of us were silent. How can a chess game with clock take 5 hours? By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Were is (in this case) the 3rd person, plural past form of the verb be. Should I use “was” or “were” in “as though he was frightened”? If they want to have a debate and a vote on a constitutional amendment, She holds this fact over Negi's head as a vague threat, though, However, their latest rebranding exercise might be doing them more harm than good as far as, If I kick the bucket, half of everything immediately goes to the government, because. If you want to state something that has already been completed, you say: ‘The dogs were running around the backyard.’ This means that the action of ‘running’ was done in the past – the dogs were no longer running around the backyard when the statement was made. There's a few absent smiles and drumming of fingers on shopping trolleys, The government's going to close us down and cut their military down when, There are kids riding horses and dogs chasing sticks yet, I think the press wants a good story, and they don't sit and think about who, Well, you know, John has a very warped sense of humor, and, Everything will work fine, but unfortunately your phone will be stuck in restore mode until you jailbreak it, which is what, Yet if we accept the proposition that we live in a global economy, we need to consider how, Every time I ask for money social services say.