Was or were?
Past be splits two ways, and almost on the same line as the present. The exception is if I were, which is a different grammar altogether.
The short answer
Use was with I, he, she, it and any single thing. Use were with you, we, they and anything plural. One exception: in unreal conditions, were goes with every subject — if I were you.
Which one do you need?
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I, he, she, it, one thing | was | The door was open. |
| you, we, they, several things | were | The doors were open. |
| any subject, unreal condition | were | If I were you… |
Practice the choice
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Getting your first question ready.
Side by side
Three sentences for each form, taken from the 2,186 sentences this drill uses. The answer is highlighted.
was
- Why was he not at the office yesterday?
- Did you see what she was wearing at the party?
- The book was on the shelf before she moved it.
were
- What were you doing at 9 p.m. yesterday?
- What were they discussing during the meeting?
- What were you doing at the park yesterday afternoon?
The straight answer
Was goes with I, he, she, it and single nouns. Were goes with you, we, they and plural nouns.
Note what moved from the present tense: I now takes the same form as he and she. There is no separate form for I in the past, which is one trap fewer.
You were, always
You takes were whether it means one person or a room full:
- You were right. — to one friend
- You were all late. — to a group
You was turns up in many dialects and in song lyrics. In anything marked or published it reads as an error.
If I were: the one place were beats was
Put were with any subject when the condition is impossible, imaginary or contrary to fact:
- If I were taller, I’d reach it. — I am not taller
- If she were here, she’d know. — she is not here
- I wish it were Friday. — it is not Friday
This is the last working piece of the English subjunctive. Compare it with a real past condition, which keeps was:
If he was at the meeting, he heard the news. — maybe he was there; I don’t know
So the question is not which subject you have, but whether the thing is unreal. Unreal takes were.
Fixed phrases with were
As it were. Were it not for the rain. Would that it were so.
These are frozen and do not change. You will meet them in writing far more than in speech.
There was, there were
Agreement looks forward:
- There was a letter for you.
- There were two letters for you.
With there was a lot of and there were a number of, follow the noun: there was a lot of noise, there were a number of complaints.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: You was late. correct: You were late.
You takes were, in the singular as well as the plural. You was is common in speech but counts as an error in writing.
Wrong: If I was you, I'd wait. correct: If I were you, I'd wait.
An impossible condition takes were with every subject. If I was is heard everywhere, but exams mark it wrong.
Wrong: There was four people waiting. correct: There were four people waiting.
After there, the verb agrees with the noun that follows it.