Is "Were" Capitalized in a Title?

Yes. "Were" is a form of the verb "to be," and every style guide capitalizes verbs in a title: "Those Were the Days," "We Were Liars."

"Were" by Style Guide

Style guide	"Were" mid-title	Why
AP	Capitalize	Verbs are major words
APA	Capitalize	Verbs are major words
Chicago	Capitalize	Verbs are major words
MLA	Capitalize	Verbs are major words
AMA	Capitalize	Verbs are major words
Bluebook	Capitalize	Verbs are major words

Examples in Chicago Style

• Those Were the Days
• We Were Wrong about Headlines
• What Were They Thinking
• If I Were You

Every form of "to be" is capitalized: "is", "are", "was", and "be".

For the short list of words that do stay lowercase, see the full list of words that stay lowercase.

"Were" in Sentence Case

APA reference lists, many news sites, and most UI text use sentence case instead of title case. There, only the first word and proper nouns get capitals, so "were" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "Those were the days." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.

Quick Answers

Should "were" be capitalized in a title?

Yes. "Were" is a verb, and every style guide capitalizes verbs in title case.

Is "were" capitalized in APA?

Yes. APA capitalizes major words, including verbs, regardless of length.