How To: Use "we're" & "were" properly

Learning American English is often difficult when faced with two words of similar spelling or sound. This is certainly true in the case of "we're" and "were".

The first step in knowing proper usage is to know what the two words mean.

We're is a contraction for we are. Whenever you want to say we are, you can remove the letter a and add an apostrophe. It becomes "we're".

Examples of the correct usage of "we're":

We're in school.
We're going shopping
We're going to see a movie.

Were is the past tense of the verb "be". Remember the verb "be" is that tricky one that includes future--will, present--are/is, and past--were/was. "Were" is the conjugation used with the pronouns you, we, and they.

Examples of the correct "were" usage:

You were at school.
We were shopping.
They were going to see a movie.

Two other words that some people confuse with "we're" and "were" are the words "where" and "wear".

"Where" is a question word used to determine a location. "Where" are you? "Where" did it happen? "Where" is John?

"Wear" is a verb for clothing. "Wear" a good coat today. You should "wear" a tie with that shirt. I will "wear" my lucky socks for the test.

Try to use and understand this tongue twister:

We're where you were yesterday. It means that "we are" at the "place" that you "were" the day before today.