Was and were are verbs, past-tense forms of be, used as linking verbs and helping verbs.
If “was” and “were” trip you up, you’re not alone. They don’t “look” like many verbs, and they often sit in the middle of a sentence doing quiet work.
This article answers one thing early, then gives you quick tests you can run on any sentence. You’ll see when “was” and “were” act as the main verb, when they act as a helper, and how that changes what you call them in grammar class.
What Part Of Speech Is Was And Were?
In standard English grammar, “was” and “were” are verbs. They’re past-tense forms of the verb be. In a sentence, they can work as a linking verb (“She was tired”) or as a helping verb that teams up with another verb (“They were running”). Cambridge Grammar lists “was” and “were” as past forms of be in its entry on be in English grammar.
So if you’re asking what part of speech is was and were? the short label is “verb.” The next step is naming the type of verb they are in that sentence.
| Where “was/were” appears | What role it plays | Fast way to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Before an adjective: “The room was quiet.” | Linking verb | Swap in “seemed” and check if meaning still fits. |
| Before a noun: “My uncle was a pilot.” | Linking verb | Ask: does it connect the subject to an identity or description? |
| Before a place/time phrase: “The notes were on the desk.” | Linking verb | See if it points to location or condition, not an action. |
| Before -ing: “We were waiting.” | Helping verb (progressive) | Remove “were” and you lose the tense marker. |
| Before a past participle: “The tickets were sold.” | Helping verb (passive) | Add “by ___” to see if a doer can appear. |
| With “there”: “There were three chairs.” | Main verb in an existence pattern | Move the real subject after the verb: “three chairs”. |
| In a clause about an unreal condition: “If I were you…” | Verb (subjunctive use) | It states a non-fact condition; “were” stays even with “I”. |
| In a tag question: “He was late, wasn’t he?” | Verb (same role as main clause) | Match it to the verb in the statement you’re tagging. |
What part of speech are was and were in real writing
“Was” and “were” can feel slippery because they don’t always show an action. A lot of verbs do show action (“jumped,” “built,” “laughed”). The verb be often shows a state: identity, condition, location, or existence. That still counts as verb work.
Think of “be” as the glue that lets English describe what something is, not only what something does. In past time, that glue shows up as “was” and “were.”
Linking verb use
A linking verb connects the subject to a word or phrase that renames it or describes it. “Was” and “were” do this all day long.
- “The soup was cold.” (“cold” describes “soup”)
- “Those students were winners.” (“winners” renames “students”)
- “My phone was in my bag.” (location of “phone”)
Notice what’s missing: there’s no object getting “acted on.” You can’t ask “was what?” the way you can ask “kicked what?” That’s a clue you’re dealing with a linking verb.
Helping verb use
“Was” and “were” can join another verb to build a tense. In that setup, they’re helping verbs (many teachers call them auxiliary verbs). The main meaning comes from the other verb.
Past progressive
Past progressive uses “was/were + -ing” to show an action in progress in the past.
- “I was studying when the lights went out.”
- “They were driving all night.”
Passive voice
Passive voice often uses “was/were + past participle” (often an -ed form, but not always). It shifts attention to the receiver of an action.
- “The window was broken.”
- “The letters were delivered.”
If you want a quick refresher on how English tenses are built with helper verbs, Purdue OWL’s page on verb tenses lays out the idea with clear patterns.
How to identify the part of speech in any sentence
When a worksheet asks for the “part of speech,” it’s asking for the word’s job in that exact sentence. “Was” and “were” keep the same part of speech (verb), but the style of verb can change. Use these checks when you’re unsure.
Check 1: Find the subject first
Circle the subject. Then look right after it. If you see “was” or “were,” you’ve likely found the verb slot.
Check 2: Ask what comes after was/were
What follows often tells you the verb’s role:
- Adjective or noun → linking verb (“was happy,” “were teammates”)
- -ing verb → helping verb for past progressive (“were running”)
- Past participle → helping verb for passive (“was chosen”)
- Place/time phrase → linking verb for location or state (“was at home”)
Check 3: Try a swap test
Swap “was/were” with another linking verb like “seemed.” If the sentence keeps a similar meaning, you’re in linking-verb land. If the sentence falls apart because you need the helper to mark the tense, you’re in helping-verb land.
Parts of speech vs sentence parts
Some grammar tasks mix two ideas: a word’s part of speech and a sentence part. A part of speech is the word class (verb, noun, adjective). A sentence part is the job inside the clause (subject, predicate, complement).
That mix-up is why “was” and “were” feel confusing. In “Mina was tired,” “was” is the verb. “Tired” is not another verb; it’s an adjective acting as a subject complement. In “Mina was a captain,” “captain” is a noun acting as a subject complement.
If a teacher asks you to label “was” as a “linking verb,” they’re still talking about the same part of speech. “Linking” is a verb type, not a new word class.
Was and were in questions, negatives, and contractions
You’ll also see “was” and “were” in sentence shapes that feel less like the neat “subject + verb” pattern. The word is still the verb; the word order just shifts.
Questions
In many questions, the verb comes first. You can still find the subject after it.
- “Were you ready?” (subject: “you”)
- “Was the bus late?” (subject: “the bus”)
Negatives
When “not” follows “was/were,” “not” works as an adverb that negates the verb.
- “I was not worried.”
- “They were not at school.”
Contractions
Contractions keep the same grammar under the hood. “Wasn’t” equals “was not,” and “weren’t” equals “were not.” Many worksheets treat the contraction as the verb phrase, so it’s fine to label the whole chunk as “verb.”
Was and were as main verbs in special patterns
Some sentences don’t have an obvious adjective or noun after the verb. “Was” and “were” still stay verbs, and the patterns below explain why.
There was / there were
In “there was” and “there were,” the word “there” doesn’t act as the true subject. The real subject comes later.
- “There was a delay.” (real subject: “a delay”)
- “There were two delays.” (real subject: “two delays”)
This pattern is handy in speech and writing, but it can hide the subject, so agreement mistakes pop up.
Subjunctive were
You may have heard “If I were you…” and thought it breaks the rule. It isn’t random. This “were” signals an unreal condition.
- “If I were taller, I’d play center.”
- “I wish it were Friday.”
In school terms, it’s still a verb. The label “subjunctive” describes mood, not part of speech.
Was vs were: choosing the right one
Once you know “was” and “were” are verbs, the next pain point is picking the right form. Most of the time it’s simple subject-verb agreement.
Agreement in plain sentences
- Singular subjects → “was” (I/he/she/it was)
- Plural subjects → “were” (you/we/they were)
“You were” is always “were,” even when “you” means one person. English treats “you” as plural for this verb form.
Agreement traps that cause mistakes
These are the spots where writers pause and second-guess themselves.
| Situation | Choose | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| “There ___ a lot of reasons.” | were | Real subject is “reasons” (plural). |
| “There ___ a reason and two excuses.” | was (often) / were (also common) | Speech often matches the first noun; formal writing may match the nearest noun. |
| “The list of names ___ on my desk.” | was | Subject is “list,” not “names.” |
| “A pair of scissors ___ missing.” | was | “Pair” is singular in grammar. |
| “My jeans ___ wet.” | were | Some nouns are plural in form (“jeans”). |
| “If I ___ you, I’d call.” | were | Unreal condition uses subjunctive “were.” |
| “I wish it ___ easier.” | were (unreal) / was (some casual speech) | Subjunctive fits the “wish” pattern when it’s not a fact. |
| “The team ___ ready.” | was (US) / were (UK) | Collective nouns vary by style and region. |
Common classroom labels you might see
Teachers and grammar books don’t always use the same labels. That can make you feel like the rules changed. They didn’t.
Main verb
If “was/were” carries the sentence by itself (“The door was open”), it’s the main verb of that clause.
Linking verb
If it connects the subject to a description or identity, it’s a linking verb. Many worksheets want this label.
Helping verb
If it sits before another verb (“was running,” “were chosen”), it’s helping. Some books call it an auxiliary verb. Same idea.
Mini practice set with answers
Read each sentence once, then point to the word that tells past time.
Try these. Say “verb” for part of speech, then name the role.
- “The cookies were fresh.” → verb, linking
- “We were laughing.” → verb, helping (past progressive)
- “The rules were posted yesterday.” → verb, helping (passive)
- “There was a storm.” → verb, main verb in an existence pattern
- “If she were here, she’d know.” → verb, subjunctive use
A quick checklist you can use while editing
When you’re proofreading, “was” and “were” are easy to spot, so they’re a place to clean up a draft.
- Underline each “was/were.”
- Mark what follows (adjective, noun, -ing, past participle, place/time phrase).
- Label it: linking, helping, or “there was/were.”
- Check agreement with the true subject, not the nearest noun inside a phrase.
- If the sentence states a non-fact condition, check if subjunctive “were” fits.
One more tip: when “was/were” is helping another verb, treat the two words as a team. In “were running,” the full verb phrase is “were running,” while only “running” carries the action idea.
One last pass: ask yourself if the sentence needs “was/were” at all. Sometimes a stronger main verb can replace it. Sometimes it’s the simplest choice. Either way, you’re deciding on purpose now, not guessing.
And if you ever catch yourself asking what part of speech is was and were? again, you can answer it in one beat: they’re verbs, with a role that shifts by sentence pattern.