Learn Dutch: Mijn broers waren soms stout, maar ik was braaf. - My brothers were sometimes naughty, but I was well-behaved.

This is the simple past tense of zijn (to be). You use waren for all plural subjects, like mijn broers (my brothers), wij (we), and zij (they). You use was for singular subjects, like ik (I), hij (he), or het (it).

Why doesn't the word maar push the verb was to the end of the sentence?

The word maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, just like en (and). It links two normal sentences together without changing their word order. Because of this, the second part follows the standard Subject-Verb rule: ik (subject) then was (verb).

Could I put soms at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes, but remember that the conjugated verb must always take the second position in a Dutch main clause. If you start the sentence with Soms, the verb waren must come immediately after it, pushing the subject to the third spot: Soms waren mijn broers stout...

Is braaf only used for children?