Was vs. Were
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Was vs. Were
While some of our articles focus on minor grammar points or innocent, common mistakes, here we want to tackle a bigger issue. Some people may struggle with the difference between was and were. Because these are both frequent words that might be used throughout the day, understanding how and when to apply each one can greatly improve your communication skills in American English.
Was and Were: Similarities and Differences
Both of these words come from the verb “to be.” Obviously, being is a big part of life, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that different forms of the verb are so often used (e.g., am, is, are).
In this case, both was and were are in the past tense. A main difference is that one (was) is singular, and the other (were) is often plural.
If was is past-tense singular, then it refers to one person or object being in a previous moment or time.
Examples
Karen was tired, so she took a nap. (She felt tired at a time before the present.)I was looking for my cat all day, and when I finally found her, she was asleep under a blanket. (I was seeking the cat and it was sleeping at a time before the present.)
That sandwich was the best I ever had. (The sandwich had been eaten at a former time.)
These are all singular subjects in a past-tense situation.
Were is past tense as well, but it works with plural subjects in the third person.
Examples
I looked all over, but my papers were nowhere to be found.All the kids at the park were on their phones even though we rented a bouncing castle.
The suitcases were three days late in arriving at our vacation hotel.
Were is also the past-tense form of to be for the second person singular (you) and plural (we).
Examples
You were Barbara’s favorite teacher in grade school.We were the first people in line for the Dave Matthews Band concert tickets.
The past-tense verb were is used with the subjunctive mood as well. Learn more
Pop Quiz
Using what you’ve learned in this article, choose the right verb for each sentence.
1. I heard there [was / were] several hundred runners at the race.
2. The barista [was / were] very helpful in making me a new latte after I dropped my first one.
3. That old car [was / were] rusty, but I loved the way the engine sounded.
4. It turned out those coins I found on the beach [was / were] worth a fortune.
5. My left shoe [was / were] ruined during my dog’s temper tantrum.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. I heard there were several hundred runners at the race.
2. The barista was very helpful in making me a new latte after I dropped my first one.
3. That old car was rusty, but I loved the way the engine sounded.
4. It turned out those coins I found on the beach were worth a fortune.
5. My left shoe was ruined during my dog’s temper tantrum.
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If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Is it right to say “wish I were young again”?
Your example indicates a wishful thought. Therefore, the subjunctive mood were is used. The complete sentence is written “I wish I were young again.” See our post Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood?
In a document is it correct to say the Minutes of a meeting was read since “Minutes” is the name of a document, or should it be the Minutes of a meeting were read?
In the sentence “The minutes of the meeting were read,” the subject is “minutes.” The noun minutes referring to the official record of the proceedings of a meeting is plural. Therefore, the plural verb were is used.
So were the couch and rug, or so was the couch and rug.
Since you are referring to two objects, use the plural verb were.
If I was a competent videographer…
If I were a competent videographer….
Which is correct?
The verb use would depend on whether the given scenario is possible or impossible. Could you be a videographer? Perhaps. (Conversely, could you turn into a book with pages?) In this context, you would use the declarative “was.” If the prospect has little or no chance of becoming true (such as turning into a book), you would use the subjunctive “were.” You can explore this subject further in our article Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood?
Is it “the pair was seen” or “were seen”?
Write “the pair was seen.”
Is not “were” used to denote the future as in “If I were a rich man…”
You are referring to an example of the subjunctive mood, which refers to the expression of a hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory thought. You will find more information in our posts Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood? and The Subjunctive Mood.
In this example, shall I use was or were?
As a result, the issue about “cherry-picking” of cases was resolved, as no one could do manual selection.
The singular subject “issue” agrees with was.
…the issue… was resolved…
Thank you very much. I thought so but Google docs recommended “were.”
The spell-check features of programs such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs can be useful, but they can still raise questions as well. If ever in doubt about a grammatical prompt, follow your instincts and consult a supporting grammar resource to be sure.
Was or were:
For the Septicemia DRGs 871 and 872, 37.2% of the errors was attributed to “no documentation.”
Fractions and percentages can be either singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition following. Since the object errors is plural, use were.
I’m told the correct usage is “were,” but I can’t figure out why. It just doesn’t sound right to me.
1,965 tons of yard waste were collected in the 2021 season.
The subject of the sentence is the plural noun tons; therefore were is correct. In addition, our Rule 1 of Writing Numbers says, “Spell out all numbers beginning a sentence.”
One thousand nine hundred sixty-five tons of yard waste were collected in the 2021 season.
I can’t work this one out. Should it be “It would have been safer if John or Peter was there,” or should it be “It would have been safer if John or Peter were there”? Thank you.
The use of “was” or “were” would be determined by whether the scenario is plausible (conditional mood) or implausible (subjunctive mood). Could John or Peter have been there? If so but they weren’t, that would be the conditional (was there). If there’s no way they could have been there – e.g., they were deceased or they lived in the middle of the South Pole without a sled – it would be the subjunctive (were there).
Is it if I were rich or if I was rich? Could you please explain more about “if I was or if I were” proper usage and any rules?
If the phrase “if I were rich” describes a situation that doesn’t exist and most likely will not, use the subjunctive were. More information can be found in the following posts:
If I Was vs. If I Were: Which One Is Right?
Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood?
What if there are multiple actions?
For example,
He told me that washing your face, shaving your beard and trimming your face was crucial OR were crucial.
I saw [was] being used in an American video for something similar.
Thank you!
Your sentence contains multiple gerunds; therefore, use the plural verb were and use a comma after the word beard.
He told me that washing your face, shaving your beard, and trimming your face were crucial.
Please see our post What Is a Gerund and Why Care? and our Rule 1 of Commas.
In the sentence, “In 2010 and 2011, 600 gallons of water was dumped…” is it correct to use “was,” or should I use “were?”
Use the plural verb “were” with the plural subject “gallons.”
Please assist if it should be “Were the Relationship Banking Portfolios affected by the change, or was it only the Retail Portfolios?” Is the “was” before “it” correctly used, or should it be adjusted to accommodate “portfolios” later in the sentence?
“Was” agrees with the singular pronoun “it.” Therefore, the sentence is correct as written.
Which of these 2 statements is correct?
Was you ever in doubt before?
Where you ever in doubt before?
Neither is correct. Write “Were you ever in doubt before?”
See our post Where vs. Were: Do You Know the Difference?
I am narrating a children’s book, and wanted know if the below sentence should utilize “was” or “were” (note that Pebbles is a character’s name):
What made Pebbles really curious was/were BIG numbers…
Use “were” with the plural noun “numbers.”
I found this opening line in a library book my daughter brought home and felt it was grammatically incorrect.
“Once upon a time, there were a kind king and queen who had twelve beautiful daughters.”
Shouldn’t it be Once upon a time, there WAS a kind king and queen who had twelve beautiful daughters?
Since “were” is referring to both the king and the queen, the plural verb is grammatically correct.
Is it “One in five adults in the United States were affected by mental illness in 2020,” or “One in five adults in the United States was affected by mental illness in 2020”? I’m struggling to decide if I should use the singular since we are referring to “one,” or if because the noun “adults” is plural, the verb should be as well. Additionally, this construction is complicated to me because “one in five” is a simplified fraction, while “two in ten adults” clearly calls for the plural, as does stating the fraction in the form of a percentage (20%), e.g., “Twenty percent of adults in the United States were affected by mental illness in 2020.”
Thank you for weighing in!
The subject is “one.” Therefore, “was” is correct.
“Child Safety were considering the removal of her newborn child.” Should this be “was” as “Child Safety” is the name of a department?
Yes, “Child Safety” is considered a singular noun; therefore, “was” is correct.
Beyond being a singular noun, it sounds like an abbreviated reference to a division or department. We can see how some writers might consider such a reference as having an omitted but understood plural character (i.e., more than one person in the department/division), but that would also typically qualify as a nonformal approach.
Please note English is not my first language. I detest poor use of the language.
I have noticed you make reference in your advice to pay attention to the subject of the sentence in order to know which verbal tense we should use; however, on occasion you make reference to the subject of the sentence and in others to the noun. For example, “What made Pebbles really curious was big numbers.” I do not understand why use “were,” as the subject of the sentence is “Pebbles”? She is the one who was curious. About what? Big numbers.
Here is another example I don’t understand: My husband insists (and I believe him, he is British) that the correct sentence is ”The account has now matured; thirty thousand pounds was reinvested into the bond ” (as opposed to “were”). But “pounds” is plural. Thanks for helping.
If you turn the first sentence around, you will see that the subject is “numbers,” not “Pebbles.”
Big numbers were what made Pebbles really curious.
Our Rule 7 of Subject-Verb Agreement says, “Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.” Therefore, “was” is correct in the second sentence.
Thank you for this very useful explanation. I have a question about sentence order. For example, in the sentence “What were the islanders like?” can I ask the very same question putting the verb “were” in a different place? For instance, is “What the islanders were like?” correct? Thank you in advance!
“What the islanders were like” is not a complete sentence, but rather a dependent clause. You could write “Can you tell me what the islanders were like?” In this case, the dependent clause has a clear grammatical role as a direct object.
“What were the islanders like?” is grammatically correct. One way to ensure proper grammar is to re-cast the interrogative sentence with a declarative word order: “The islanders were like what?”
I find myself saying “what were that?” instead of “what was that?” Which is right? Please help, so I can say the correct one from now on.
The pronoun “that” is singular; therefore, the singular verb “was” is correct.
Was or were?
The movie and Halle Bailey were both phenomenal.
Our Basic Rule in Subject-Verb Agreement says, ” A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.” Your sentence has a plural subject “(movie” and “Halle Bailey”). Therefore, use the plural verb “were.”
Which is correct?
“My husband and I were trying to recall the name and location of that store” or
“My husband and I was trying to recall the name and location of that store.”
Our Basic Rule in Subject-Verb Agreement says, “A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.” Your sentence has two subjects (husband, I); therefore, use the plural verb were.
If the people was/were crying. what`s the correct use of was/were in the sentence
“People” is a plural noun. The correct verb would therefore be “were”: “The people were crying.”
I find myself disagreeing with your answer on “What made Pebbles really curious was/were big numbers.”
To me, “big numbers” in this context is a singular concept, so I would use “was.” You wouldn’t say “What frustrated Pebbles were physics.” You would use “was” because “physics” is a singular concept, despite being a plural word.
Am I completely off base, or is there some merit to my argument?
As we stated in our reply of October 18, 2022, the subject is the plural noun “numbers,” which takes the plural verb “were.” Physics is a singular noun.
An interesting discussion just arose on another site.
To my ears, it’s correct to say “The dirt and grime was washed away.”
But I would say “The house and car were washed away.”
Does “was/were” have a countability distinction, akin to “less/fewer”?
Interestingly, you would never say “the house and grime” was/were anything. Those words simply don’t combine at all.
“Dirt and grime” is used as a collocation in your example sentence, similar to “bed and breakfast” and “breaking and entering.” The two nouns together take a singular verb. The same would not be true with “house and grime.”