erat

Erat is a Latin verb form that means “he was,” “she was,” or “it was.” It is the third person singular in the imperfect indicative of the verb esse, which means “to be.” The imperfect tense in Latin conveys a continued or customary past state rather than a single completed action.

In practice, erat appears with any subject that is in a past state of being. The full imperfect conjugation of esse is eram, eras, erat, eramus, eratis, erant. Because Latin word order is flexible, erat can appear in various positions within a clause, and the subject may be explicit or understood from context.

Erat occurs frequently in classical and medieval Latin prose and poetry. It is commonly used to set scenes, describe ongoing past conditions, or indicate customary past actions when paired with context that implies duration or repetition. A well-known fixed expression containing erat is quod erat demonstrandum, meaning “which was to be demonstrated,” traditionally written at the end of a mathematical proof.

Etymologically, erat derives from Latin esse, the verb “to be.” The form reflects the language’s system of tenses and aspects, distinct from the present sum series (sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt) and other tenses of esse. In translations, erat is typically rendered as “was” to preserve the imperfect aspect in English.