"As you were", "As we were"

Posted by Bruce Kahl on September 10, 2004

In Reply to: "As you were", "As we were" posted by Henry on September 10, 2004

: : Hello,

: : I have bumped into that sentence sometimes, and it confuses me.

: : I have seen these phrases "As you were" and "As we were" as the last sentence of longer rants and explanations also after announcements, allways consisting of tehse three words, where one would expect another fourth word, where it would be explained, what these "were" Also I have never seen it with dots after it, so it does not look like the authors left out a word on purpose.

: : What does it and where does that come from?

: "As you were" is a military drill command. If an NCO gives an order and then wishes to change it, or if he is not satisfied with the way the men react, he may give the command As you were. This tells the men to return to the earlier state and await the next command.

: "The way we were" takes a look back to earlier times. It is often a sentimental view of happier times.

Yes, correct.

It is confusing because things have been left out and it is up to you to fill in the blanks.

So "As you were" should be read as "return to how you were before I got here".

And "As we were" should be read as "As we were way back when we were in love".