Well, it is unfortunate to see that the original question poser got such confusion between those two words only because of their similarity in spelling. However, if one looks carefully on the characteristics of the two words, then there should never be any confusion: -- "where" is served as an interrogative adverb (como "dónde" o "adónde") or a conjunction (como "donde" o "cuando"). -- "were" is served as the past tense ("preterito" o "imperfecto") of the verb "to be" (ser o estar) in the 2nd singular (i.e., you "tú") and in the plural forms (i.e., we "nosotros", you "vosotros", they "ellos / ellas / ustedes"). Hence, I personally suggest that, including the original question poser, any language learners should pay some attention to the word characteristics, instead of solely onto the word spelling, in order to avoid unnecessary confusions. The situation would be very similar, if some Spanish learners pose a question like: -- Cuál es la diferencia entre "amor (m)" y "amar (vt/vi)" ? -- Cuál es la diferencia entre "carne (f)" y "carné (m)" ? In both questions, the pair of words are so similar in terms of spelling, but when we analyze their characteristics, any confusions would be clarified immediately. Take care and good weekend. Cuídate y buen fin de semana.

Where refers to a location. For example: "Where are my shoes?". "Were" is a past tense version of the "to be" verb. For example: "You were at the party last night."

Hello Kanaria, 'were' is the past simple tense of verb 'to be' in its plural form (used with 'we and they' . "They were very close friends." "We were together for 2 years." 'where' means dónde (in questions): "Where are you going? ¿Adónde or dónde vas?" "Where does he come from?" ¿de dónde es?" "Where am I? " ¿dónde estoy? Donde ( conjunción): "Go where you like." Ve a donde quieras "That is where you are mistaken." ahí es donde te equivocas

It's that tricky 'H' !! 'Where' refers to a location. Same vowel-sound as 'there' (and bear, care, dare, wear, etc). To remember it, just think: "Where? There!" 'Were' is a verb, the past tense of 'are': 'you were'/'they were'. It's also used in the 3rd Conditional, but I won't go into that here. The same vowel-sound as bird, third, purr, err... Extra pronunciation note: normally both words are spoken with a basic 'w' sound, but in RP British (the very-educated British accent you hear), 'wh' is pronounced as 'hw'. This makes 'where' sound like 'hwear'. If you want to use this pronunciation, you'll also need to practice that very light final 'r' that Brits put at the back of the throat. If you use the strong leading American 'r' you'll sound like a pirate.

Where: In or at or to what place "I know where he is"; "Where are you going" were: Verb : be(am, are, is, was, were, been, being) Have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)