we were surprised vs we were surprising

"We were surprised" is the proper English phrasing. This is the past tense of the verb "to be surprised." On the other hand, "we were surprising" is not correct in this context because it uses the verb "surprising" as an adjective, which does not match the past tense verb form needed in this sentence.

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Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: November 07, 2024 • 11076 views

we were surprised

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is the past tense of the verb "to be surprised." It is used to describe a state of being surprised in the past.

Examples:

We were surprised by the sudden turn of events.
They were surprised to see us at the party.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 15, 2024

High quality example sentences with “we were surprised” in context from reliable sources - Ludwig: your English writing platform.
Why We Were Surprised (Again) by the Arab Spring. Jeff Goodwin. New York ... The East European Revolution of 1989: Is It Surprising that We Were Surprised?
We were surprised last night after the show by this amazing tribute to Mr. Sondheim. ❤ ❤ ; Dawn Matune. Peggy Piercey Cobb isn't he amazing!!!! So glad I saw him ...
Aug 20, 2022 ... We were surprised to find a Stormlight classic at a local art museum! No Spoilers r/Stormlight_Archive - The Way of Kings by Michael Whelan
Oct 7, 2024 ... 752 likes, 21 comments - mattchewning on October 7, 2024: "We were kids when we were surprised by the news that we were having a baby.
Feb 26, 2023 ... We were surprised! 30” tall and 95lbs. We were told Hound x by the rescue at 10mths old and then called him an Anatolian Shepherd x for 8 years ...
Apr 8, 2020 ... or We were surprised by their news. Other verbs like this are” to be bored by something” or “to bore.”I was bored by the lecture or the ...
Jun 21, 2023 ... "In re-reading Dracula, we were surprised and intrigued by the boldness with which Stoker, a closeted gay man in Victorian England, ...
Oct 15, 2012 ... Please I saw this question in test: We were surprised that there ..... queues outside the cinema A. were any B. weren't no C. were no D.
Apr 1, 2024 ... 3231 likes, 78 comments - toothandclawpodcast on April 1, 2024: "We were surprised/ ecstatic to find out we are in the @nytimes today and ...

we were surprising

This phrase is not correct in this context.

The phrase "we were surprising" is not correct in this context. If you want to use the verb "surprising," you could say, for example, "We were surprising everyone with our magic tricks."

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Nov 23, 2023 ... We were surprising our family with a gender reveal.. what a year makes! So much to be thankful for this year. These two humans are my whole world!
Jul 17, 2014 ... The Lodge then explained to us that we were surprising Senior Cabin and had to be super quiet. We all waited silently in the Rec Hall until ...
Jun 30, 2014 ... We were surprising my brother for his 21st birthday, and so far nobody had slipped up! (Okay there may have been one or two instances ...
When we arrived at the Luxor we were meeting all of our friends thinking we were surprising Tacy. We were all sneaking around the hotel waiting for the ...
... we were surprising him! He was celebrating his 50th birthday with a party put on by his fiancé (that happened at the party! ), and we told him we couldn ...
Mar 18, 2024 ... But the thing is, we were surprising our birthday boy with a party at his cousins house, ALL the way in Colorado Springs, CO that night.
Jan 9, 2013 ... We were surprising our art teacher: With their awesomeness. Seriously. I am so impressed by my students. I love their landscapes and cannot ...
Feb 9, 2024 ... We were surprising our kids with a Disney cruise. Driving from south florida to “Disney”, we go to the port and announce our big surprise, a ...
May 21, 2019 ... As in, the 4 of us pulled up to the airport and the twins still had no idea we were surprising them with their very own solo trip with mama & ...
Sep 24, 2024 ... ... WE WERE SURPRISING HIM @Chucky #carvana #boymom #fyp #surprise #photography #love #sweet16 #grateful #newcar #family #viralvideo #tiktokshop ...

Alternatives:

We were surprising everyone with our magic tricks.

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we were surprised vs we were surprising

we were surprised

we were surprising

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