Focus on pronunciation: where, were, we're.

Learning to pronounce the words where, were and we’re is one of those things that can make students really unhappy. The three words look fairly similar, but are pronounced quite differently.

To help resolve any confusion, let’s start with their different meanings:

Where = a question word for asking about location, or a word used to refer to location. For example:

Where is my coat? It’s on the chair.

My coat is on the chair where I left it last night.

Were = one of the two past simple forms of the verb ‘to be’. For example:

You were not at home when I came to visit.

We were happy with our exam results.

They were in France last week.

(Note: the other past simple form of the verb ‘to be’ is ‘was’, i.e. I was and he/she/it was)

We’re = the short form of ‘we are’. For example:

We’re happy with our new appartment.

We’re going to raise money to help refugees.

Hopefully the meaning of these words is now clear. So let’s look at the pronunciation:

• Where rhymes with ‘hair’, ‘care’ and ‘share’.

• Were rhymes with ‘her’ and ‘sir’.

• We’re rhymes with ‘here’, ‘dear’ and ‘near’.

But how can you remember this? One way is to make up sentences in which the words rhyme with each other. For example:

• Where? There!

• The words were heard.

• We’re here!

But if you’re not sure how to pronounce the words that rhyme, another thing that might help is to listen repeatedly to them on something like Google Translate, or if you know an English native-speaker, ask them if they’re willing to help you.

Please note that my rhymes above are based on the Standard Southern British Accent (formerly known as ‘received pronunciation’). There are many, many other accents, but I teach the Southern British Accent because it’s mine; other teachers may teach you a different accent, and all are equally as good.

Finally, if you would like some practice and you know an English native-speaker who is happy to listen to you, try saying the following phrases out loud. You can either try them mixed, as they are here, or group them into three sections of ‘where’, ‘were’ and ‘we’re’.

1. Where did you put my keys?
2. Were there birds in the trees?
3. Where do you work?
4. You were great in that meeting.
5. Where is the bear?
6. Were you late yesterday?
7. Where did you put my hairbrush?
8. We were very impressed.
9. That’s where the main office is.
10. They were not well organised.
11. We’re going on holiday!
12. We’re waiting here, where are you?
13. There were many people at the concert.
14. There were not many people at the restaurant last night.
15. We’re going where you were.

If you have any other ideas about how to pronounce words in English, don’t hesitate to get in touch!