Where vs. Were — Differences, Use, & Examples (2024)

Differences between where and were

The differences betweenwhereandwereare the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning. One is always a verb; one is an adverb and part-time subordinating conjunction. They are two different words and have different meanings.

Where definition

Wherecan be anadverbor, informally, asubordinating conjunctionlinking dependent and independent clauses.

As an adverb that usually appears after a place or situation. It meansin, at, orto which,as with a sentence like “I lived in New York City, where I worked for several years.”

Where in a sentence

Here are sentences using the word"where"to showin, at, orto which:

• “She studied in London, where she became a master art restorer.”

• “To which address is the envelope going? Where are you sending it?”

• “I live at the intersection of Smith and Vine Streets. I live where the two roads cross.”

Wherecan also be used as asubordinating conjunctionas with:

Here the meaning ofwhereis “in which.”

Whereas a conjunction can also mean “in the place that,” or “in situations that,” as with these sentences:

• “Where the rubber meets the road, we separate the adults from the children.”

• “Where the desert offers no visible water, animals inventively dig.”

• “We hid our treasure where no other pirates could find it.”

Whereis pronounced to rhyme with bear, hair, or there.

Were definition

Wereis a verb form ofto be, and it is three different verb forms:

1. second-person singular past tense – “You were in line first.”

2. plural past tense – “They were miners.”

3. past subjunctive tense – “If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same thing.”

Wereis pronounced to rhyme with burr and stir.

Let's review the word"were"in its three different verb forms and learn how to use"were"in sentence.

Were in a sentence

Thesecond-person singular past tenserefers to using were for the singular second-person pronounyou,or when referring to another person (only one) by name. Here are sample conversation using the past tense of the verbwere:

You:“Bettine,wereyou in the post office yesterday?”

Bettine:“Yes. I was mailing a box of llama chow. Why,wereyou there too?”

You:“Youwerein line ahead of me.Wereyou aware I was there or was I where you could not see me?”

Bettine:“I was not aware.Wereyou where the line turned around the pillar?”

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Theplural past tenseof to be iswere. This plural form is used for all plural noun forms, such asweandthey.

You:“Together, wewerein the post office an hour.”

Bettine:“My coworkerswerewondering where I was.”

You:“The postal workersweresorting and canceling as fast as they could.”

Bettine:“They reallywere, but I was still late getting back, where my boss was upset.

Thepast subjunctive tenseis reserved for any hypothetical or unreal event in the past, present, or future. If it is unlikely to happen or cannot happen at all, use the past subjunctive tense:

Bettine:“WereI to suddenly sprout wings, I would not be able to get back to the office in time.”

You:“It was as if timeweremoving backward, standing in that line.”

Bettine:“If Iwerea less patient person, I would throw a loud tantrum.”

You:“Suppose wewereto bring sandwiches and have a picnic in the line next time!”

Bettine:“It would be as if wewerecompletely free for the afternoon.”

When to use where or were

Now that we see thatwhereis an adverb or sometimes a subordinating conjunction, andwereis always a verb, we should have no trouble sorting out when to use which word.

We always usewerewhen we need a verb or a helping verb:

• We were happy children.

• They were playing in the snow.

• You were experimenting with buoyancy.

• You and I were floating pennies on saltwater.

• Were I able to turn back time, I would go back to my eighth birthday.

• If I were you, I would review my notes for that test.

We usewhereto mean location, as withat,in, orto which:

• Where would you like the llama sent?

• Where did you put the llama’s leash?

• The llama goes into the paddock, where she eats alfalfa.

• The actor moved to Los Angeles, where he starred in a llama drama.

• Antarctica is a land where llamas are ill-suited for travel.

We also usewhereas a conjunction:

• This is the time in the movie where the hero rides a llama.

• Where I go, no llama should follow.

• Where the hard rains fall, there you will find llamas.

Where vs. were examples

See how well you can separatewhereandwereby completing these example sentences.

Putwhereorwerein the correct blanks in these sentences:

1. “There, _______ the river bends to the north, is the best place to cross with the llamas.”

2. “_______ I a honey badger, I could live a life of ease.”

3. “_______ I see hard work and long days ahead, you see the carefree life of a llama farmer.”

4. “When _______ you going to tell us about the llama farm?”

5. “It was as though she _______ going to jump over that fence and escape.”

If wewereyou, we would try before we looked at the answers.

1. “There, where the river bends to the north, is the best place to cross with the llamas.”

2. “Were I a honey badger, I could live a life of ease.”

3. “Where I see hard work and long days ahead, you see the carefree life of a llama farmer.”

4. “When were you going to tell us about the llama farm?”

5. “It was as though she were going to jump over that fence and escape.”

Were vs. we're

The wordwe'reis another English word that gets confused withwere. It is pronounced the same way and looks like the wordwerewith an apostrophe.

We'reis the conjunction of the pronounweand the plural present tense form of the verb to be,are.