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Write It Right Wednesdays

The misuse of the words “were” and “we’re” 

So the other day my coworker tried to look extra smart in front of our supervisor, via email, on why she can’t attend the weekend meeting because she owns her own business. In the email she wrote, “If money we’re no object I would not need so many jobs.” Now, if you don’t know what’s wrong with that sentence…stop, put your pencil down, and listen very closely. There is a big difference between “were” and “we’re”. “Were” means: past tense second-person singular, past tense plural, and past subjunctive of ‘be’ ; which means to have, maintain, or occupy a place, situation, or position. The past tense of ‘be’ is ‘were’. Again, ‘were’ means past tense second-person singular, and past tense plural. There is no such thing as “were’s”. The word “we’re” is a contraction – we’ll talk about this in the next blog – joined together from the words ‘we are’. If said coworker would’ve said ‘we are’ when editing the email (which is the most important step in writing) she would’ve heard the difference and realized that she was misusing the word.

The best way to overcome the misuse of “were” and “we’re” is to say it aloud when writing. I know what you’re thinking, I’m not about to say words out loud and look crazy. However, if you type it wrong you’re going to look just as crazy on paper. May as well get it out the way so your email is error free. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]