USE OF WAS AND WERE
How to use ‘was’ and ‘were’?
Consider if the noun is plural or singular when deciding whether to use was or were.
Use ‘was’ if the noun is singular and use ‘were’
if the noun is plural or if there are multiple nouns. There is only one exception, that is “you”. We
only use “were” with you.
Example – The thief was stealing his money. The thieves were stealing his money. You were stealing my
money.
In the case of a collective noun, if we talk about the complete entity, like a couple which is
made of two single members, then we use ‘was’. But if we talk about each member of the
group or the entity then we use ‘were’.
Example – The board was silent on the topic of salary. The board were not agreeing with each other.
As you could see in the above example, if we are using the board as a complete entity or group
then we use ‘was’ as the linking verb. Whereas, if we talk about each member of the group or
entity, in this case, board, then we use ‘were’ as the helping verb.
In the case of an uncountable noun, we use ‘was’ as the helping verb.
Example 1 – The water present in the jug was very hot.
Example 2 – The water in the sea was very beautiful and cold at night.
As you could see in the above examples, if we talk about an uncountable noun like water, then we use
‘was’ as the helping verb.
If we talk about first person singular pronouns as the subject, then we only use ‘was’.
Example – I am running.
What is a pronoun?
Pronoun Definition – A pronoun is a word that is generally used to replace a noun in a sentence.
Pronouns obey the same grammatical rules as nouns and can be used anywhere a noun can be.
Example – Ram is a good boy. He likes all subjects.
Here, the noun ‘Ram’ gets replaced by the pronoun ‘He’ in the second sentence.
What is an antecedent?
An antecedent is any noun that is replaced by a pronoun.
Example – Ram is a good boy. He likes all subjects.
Here, the noun ‘Ram’ gets replaced by the pronoun ‘He’ in the second sentence. As such, ‘Ram’
becomes the antecedent.
What are different types of pronouns?
There are primarily four types of pronouns:
1. Possessive pronouns
2. Interrogative pronouns
3. Personal pronouns
4. Reflexive pronouns
Possessive pronouns
A possessive pronoun denotes possession, belongingness, ownership, origin, relationship, etc.
Example – That book on the table is mine. Here, the pronoun ‘mine’ reflects the owner of the
book. As such, it is called a possessive pronoun.
What are interrogative pronouns?
A pronoun used to ask a question is called an interrogative pronoun. Who, who, what, whose,
and which are the five most prevalent interrogative pronouns. Longer variants of these words end
in ‘ever’, such as whoever, whomever, whatever, and whoever.
Example –
Who will win the Nobel this year? Here, the pronoun ‘who’ is used to ask the question. As such,
it is called an interrogative pronoun.
What are personal pronouns?
A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is often used to refer to a speaker or the people or things to
whom he or she is referring.
Example – I bought my son a new toy, and he does not like it. Here, the pronoun ‘he’ reflects
who the speaker is referring to. As such, it is called a personal pronoun.
What are reflexive pronouns?
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to the same person or thing as the subject when used
as an object.
Example – Ram introduced himself. Here, the subject and the object are the same and the
pronoun ‘himself’ replaces ‘Ram’. As such, it is called a reflexive pronoun.
