The tendency in English for common words to look similar on paper is a curious thing. With ‘where’, ‘were’ and ‘we’re’, for instance, life becomes unnecessarily confusing: each word is pronounced differently and has a distinct meaning, yet written down it’s very easy to mix them up!
Thus, to help make sure your written work is free from unsightly mistakes, we’ve prepared this quick guide to how ‘where’, ‘were’ and ‘we’re’ should be used!
Where (Location or Position)
‘Where’ rhymes with ‘hair’ and is used to specify a location or position within a space:
The library is where the books are kept.
It can also be used to ask a question about something’s location or position:
Did you see where I left my glasses?
A slightly more abstract use of ‘where’ is to refer to an intellectual position:
Where do you stand on the issue of falling grammatical standards?
Or a particular set of circumstances:
I’m finally in a place in my life where I can follow my dream of becoming a dancer!
‘It’s all the lycra that first attracted me to the artform.’
In every case, however, ‘where’ refers to a place, location or position.
Were (Past Tense of ‘Be’)
‘Were’ is the past tense of ‘be’ or ‘are’, and rhymes with ‘blur’ when spoken. There are two main situations in which ‘were’ is the correct version of ‘be’ to use.
One is when using the second person (i.e. ‘you’ or ‘they’) or first person plural (i.e. ‘we’) in the past tense (we’ll include the present tense for comparison):
Present Tense: They think they know, but they are wrong.
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Past Tense: They thought they knew, but they were wrong.
The other is when using the subjunctive mood (i.e. when describing something that is conditional or imaginary, rather than factual):
If I were to go on holiday, I’d need to find a kennel for the dog.
In the above, for instance, ‘were’ is used because the speaker is talking about the possibility of going on holiday, rather than describing something that has already happened.
We’re (Short for ‘We Are’)
Finally, as indicated by the apostrophe, ‘we’re’ is a contraction, short for ‘we are’. It is therefore used when combining the first person plural and present tense:
We’re going out later, so make sure you get home from work on time.
It’s worth noting, however, that contractions like this are generally considered informal, so you should typically use the unabbreviated ‘we are’ in academic writing.
Where, Were or We’re?
Since these words each have a very specific use, telling them apart should be simple once you know what they mean. Remember:
Where = Location or position
Were = Past tense of ‘be’ or ‘are’
We’re = Short for ‘we are’ (generally considered informal)
And if you’re ever unsure about whether you’ve used a word correctly in your work, getting it proofread is a great idea!