Common English mix-ups: where, wear, were, we’re

To help you learn and improve your English, let’s look at some words that are easily mixed up in the English language: where, wear, were, we’re.

These words may look similar and sound similar, however they all have very different meanings.

Where

This word is used when asking a question that’s related to a location or giving directions to a location.

Examples:

“Where are you going?”
“Where is your house?”
“I know where the mall is. It’s just down there and to the left.”

All of these sentence use ‘where’ to ask for or give directions to a location.

Wear

Although this word is pronounced just like ‘where’, it most certainly doesn’t have the same meaning. Actually, ‘wear’ has two meanings:

1. To refer to clothing, accessories or equipment that you carry or have on your body.

Examples:

“I love the shirt you are wearing.”
“What are you going to wear to the wedding?”
“I like to wear casual shoes.”

2. To refer to something being excessively used or exhausted.

Examples:

“Staring at a computer for 6+ hours a day can really wear out your eyes.”
“The car’s tires are wearing thin.”

Were

This word is a past tense form of ‘are’.

Examples:

“What were you doing yesterday?”
“Why were you out so late?”

We’re

This word is a contraction of ‘we are’.

Examples:

“We’re going to the cinema tomorrow.” (We are going to the cinema tomorrow).
“We’re upset we missed our flight. “ (We are upset we missed our flight).

Let’s practice!

1. _______ are you having the party?
2. _______we invited?
3. I should have brought something else to ____, I’m freezing!
4. What _____ you doing when I called last night?
5. Yes, ______ going to pick you up tomorrow.
6. You should _____ a hat.
7. ______ going to pick up pizza for dinner.

Answers:
Where, were, wear, were, we’re, wearing, we’re

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