Was and Were: eram

Level 3

Was and were, with a stem of their own.

How It Works

Every form is er- plus -a- plus the usual personal ending: er-a-m, er-a-s, er-a-t, er-a-mus, er-a-tis, er-a-nt.

Use it the way you use any imperfect: for how things were. A describing word matches the subject: Marcus laetus erat, but Iulia laeta erat.

You will meet erat in the Gloria Patri (sicut erat in principio) and in the first line of John's Gospel.

Marcus laetus erat.
Marcus was happy.
Laetus matches Marcus, and erat is the imperfect of sum.
In Italia eramus.
We were in Italy.
Eramus is the we form.
Eratisne in villa?
Were you in the house?
Eratis is the you all form, and -ne makes it a question.
Roma magna erat.
Rome was big.
Magna matches Roma.
Sicut erat in principio.
As it was in the beginning.
From the Gloria Patri. In principio is in plus the ablative.

Adding -ba- to sum.
Marcus laetus erabat.
Marcus laetus erat.
Sum is irregular. Its imperfect is eram, eras, erat, with no -ba-.
Using a singular verb with a plural subject.
Pueri in horto erat.
Pueri in horto erant.
Pueri is plural, so the verb must be erant.

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Was and Were: eramLevel 3

Eram is the imperfect of to be, so the imperfect and sum come first.

Patterns that build on this one.

sum

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