Literary notes about Were (AI summary)
In these examples, “were” often appears as the simple past tense of “be,” indicating a prior condition or state—such as “[1] …they were married at Canterbury” or “[2] They were established in Greece.” It is also used in the subjunctive mood to express a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact condition, as seen in “[3] Could I feel the anguish I do if I were not his father?” and in the questioning “[4] What if the Greeks … were pessimists?” In biblical contexts like “[5] …that they were fair,” the word underscores an observed quality or state of being. Altogether, these instances showcase “were” as a versatile verb form that situates subjects in a past or hypothetical realm.
- The 29th of Edward I., the said king took to wife Margaret, sister to Philip Le Beau, king of France; they were married at Canterbury.
— from The Survey of London by John Stow - They were established in Greece, Rome, Syria, and all Asia Minor.
— from The symbolism of Freemasonry : by Albert Gallatin Mackey - Could I feel the anguish I do if I were not his father?
— from The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole - What if the Greeks in the very wealth of their youth had the will to be tragic and were pessimists?
— from The Birth of Tragedy; or, Hellenism and Pessimism by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
