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were [wɜːr, Brit wɜːʳ] VB

were pt of:

See also be

I . be <was, been> [biː] VB intr

View verb table

1. be + adj/n permanent state, quality, identity:

be
ser
she's a cook
ela é cozinheira
she's Brazilian
ela é brasileira
to be good
ser bom
to be able to do sth
poder fazer a. c.
to be married
ser casado

3. be (age):

be
ter
I'm 21
tenho 21 anos

4. be (measurement):

be
medir
be weight
pesar
to be 2 meters long
medir [or ter] 2 metros de comprimento

5. be (exist, live):

there is/are ...
há ...

6. be location, situation:

be
estar
to be in Rome
estar em Roma

8. be expressing possibility:

can it be that ...? form
será que ...? +subj

II . be <was, been> [biː] VB impers

View verb table

be expressing physical conditions, circumstances:

it's cloudy
está nublado
it's sunny
está ensolarado
it's two o'clock
são duas horas

III . be <was, been> [biː] VB aux

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4. be expressing future in past:

she was never to see her brother again
ela nunca mais veria o irmão

5. be expressing subjunctive possibility in conditionals:

if he was to work harder, he'd get better grades
se ele se esforçasse mais, tiraria notas melhores

6. be expressing obligation:

you are to come here right now
você tem de vir aqui imediatamente

7. be in question tags:

she is tall, isn't she?
ela é alta, não é?
he isn't Brazilian, is he?
ele é brasileiro, não é?

I . be <was, been> [biː] VB intr

View verb table

1. be + adj/n permanent state, quality, identity:

be
ser
she's a cook
ela é cozinheira
she's Brazilian
ela é brasileira
to be good
ser bom
to be able to do sth
poder fazer a. c.
to be married
ser casado

3. be (age):

be
ter
I'm 21
tenho 21 anos

4. be (measurement):

be
medir
be weight
pesar
to be 2 meters long
medir [or ter] 2 metros de comprimento

5. be (exist, live):

there is/are ...
há ...

6. be location, situation:

be
estar
to be in Rome
estar em Roma

8. be expressing possibility:

can it be that ...? form
será que ...? +subj

II . be <was, been> [biː] VB impers

View verb table

be expressing physical conditions, circumstances:

it's cloudy
está nublado
it's sunny
está ensolarado
it's two o'clock
são duas horas

III . be <was, been> [biː] VB aux

View verb table

4. be expressing future in past:

she was never to see her brother again
ela nunca mais veria o irmão

5. be expressing subjunctive possibility in conditionals:

if he was to work harder, he'd get better grades
se ele se esforçasse mais, tiraria notas melhores

6. be expressing obligation:

you are to come here right now
você tem de vir aqui imediatamente

7. be in question tags:

she is tall, isn't she?
ela é alta, não é?
he isn't Brazilian, is he?
ele é brasileiro, não é?

would-be ADJ

1. would-be (wishing to be):

would-be
aspirante

2. would-be (pretending to be):

would-be
suposto(-a)

Usage examples with were

if I were her
se eu fosse ela
where were you born?
onde você nasceu?
if I were him
se eu fosse ele
if I were them
se eu fosse eles(elas)
tempers were beginning to fray
começar a perder a paciência
they were glowing with health
eles irradiavam saúde
coal reserves were rapidly depleted
as reservas de carvão esgotaram-se rapidamente
we were heading for Paris
nós estávamos seguindo para Paris
as if it were true
como se fosse verdade
as if [or though] it were true
como se fosse verdade
we were just about to leave
estávamos quase saindo
I wish he were more intelligent
eu gostaria que ele fosse mais inteligente
her shoes were cakeded with mud
os sapatos dela estavam pegados [or empastados] de lama
you were seen to enter the building
você foi visto entrando no edifício
those who refused to knuckle under were imprisoned
aqueles que se recusavam a se submeter eram mandados à prisão
the soldiers were able to hold the enemy
os soldado conseguiram deter o inimigo
where were you on the night of the 12th?
onde você estava na noite do dia 12?
as far as I could judge, we were near it
com base em meus cálculos, estávamos perto

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English
Without an education women were unable to gain much knowledge or power.
en.wikipedia.org
Nevertheless, to meet the requirement of new rolling stock, three new production workshops were set up.
en.wikipedia.org
The endurance squad were able to turn the flying start to their advantage and took a clean victory over the sprinters.
en.wikipedia.org
During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout.
en.wikipedia.org
Soon his scurrilous tongue and subversive speeches were getting him into trouble.
en.wikipedia.org
The first attack transports began to enter service in 1942 and were built ad hoc from a host of different types.
en.wikipedia.org
They were only in production for two years, from 1907 to 1909.
en.wikipedia.org
Only a small fraction of the 685 children treated were diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy.
en.wikipedia.org
On a cloudless blue-sky day you might even think that you were on holiday!
www.derbytelegraph.co.uk
You were looking for the cloven hoof, to be honest.
www.irishexaminer.com

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