Past Tense vs.

Past Participle
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Archita Mittra December 21, 2023

Many English learners are confused about the difference between the past tense and
past participle verb forms.

It’s easy to see why. After all, the two forms of the verb are often identical.

But have no fear. I’m here to help you out.

By the time you finish with this post, you should understand that there are clear differences
between the past tense and the past participle verb form, even if they often look alike.

Contents

The Difference Between Past Tense and Past Participle

Basically, the past tense is a true verb tense while the past participle is a verb-derived form
that has three distinct uses.

Since past participle verbs are not tenses, they can’t be used on their own. You need an
auxiliary verb such as “have” or “had.” Because of this, the past participle is commonly used
as a compound verb.

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The past tense, on the other hand, is a conjugated verb that expresses that an action has
happened in the past, or has previously existed (but no longer).

What Is the Past Tense?

The past tense is one of three tenses in English:

Past tense
Present tense
Future tense

This concept of tenses is reflected in the way we conjugate verbs.

These tenses can further be divided into four distinct forms (simple, continuous, perfect and
perfect continuous). For the past tense, they are:

Simple past (I went to Paris.)

Past continuous (I was studying when the phone rang.)
Past perfect (I had eaten lunch by 11:00.)
Past perfect continuous (I had been eating since I woke up last Tuesday.)

Simple Past Tense

You use this tense when the action has already happened or has been completed.

I ate a chicken sandwich.

I went on a cruise last summer.

Past Continuous Tense

We use this to refer to something in the past that has already happened, but as
though it were still happening (usually in the context of another event).

I was eating a chicken sandwich when he called me.

Sara was sunbathing when the rainstorm started.

The “-ing” verb gives us the impression of an action that is happening, while the “was” means
that it took place in the past.

Past Perfect Tense

We usually use this to talk about events that have already been completed before a
specified time or another event.

I had eaten a chicken sandwich that my mother had made for me.
The package had been delivered before I got home.

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The use of the verb “had” along with the specific verb form “eaten” (which is the participle
form) tells us that it’s in the past perfect.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Finally, we use this verb form to refer to an action that was still happening until
another event occurred.

I had been eating chicken sandwiches from the local diner until I learned to cook on
my own.
She had been studying for hours before she finally understood the concept.

What Is the Past Participle?

The past participle—one of two participles in English—is a verb-based word form that has
three uses:

to form the perfect tenses

as an adjective
to form the passive voice

Past Participle and Past Perfect Verb Tense

To form a past perfect verb phrase, you need an auxiliary verb (had) and a past participle
word, like in these examples:

She had already eaten dinner when I arrived at her house.

The train had departed by the time we reached the station.
They had finished the project before the deadline.
By the time he woke up, his friends had already left.
The movie had already started when we got to the theater.

As you can see in a couple of these examples, the “had” and the past participle can sometimes
have an adverb between them, such as “already.”

Past Participle and Passive Voice

Past participles can also be used to form the passive voice. This form is often used in
academic writing, or to de-emphasize the agent/subject of a sentence, or the person or thing
performing the main action.

To form the passive voice, the past participle is used in combination with either “was” or
“were.”

The car was driven by Max.

The houses were built in the 19th century.

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 The painting was admired by many visitors at the art exhibition.
The project was completed ahead of schedule.

You can refresh your memory on the differences between active and passive voice here.

Past Participle as an Adjective

Past participles can also be used as adjectives. To do this, they are in the exact same form as
they are in the past perfect tense.

The broken vase lay shattered on the floor.

The excited children ran to the playground.
The stolen jewels were recovered by the police.
She was wearing a beautiful embroidered dress.
The exhausted hiker collapsed onto the ground.

Forming the Past Participle

Forming the past participle is pretty easy, except for the fact that there are quite a few
irregular ones.

Regular Past Participles

For most verbs, the simple past and the past participle forms of the verb are the same, so you
probably already know how to form them.

Just add the suffix “-ed” (or “-d” if the word already ends in “e”).

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 Infinitive Past Tense and
(Regular Verb) Past Participle Example Sentence

dream dreamed Last night, I dreamed about flying through

the clouds.

learn learned In college, I learned how to speak French

fluently.

listen listened Yesterday, I listened to my favorite podcast

while I was cooking dinner.

nap napped After lunch, I napped for an hour to recharge

my energy.

play played We played board games all night during the

weekend.

talk talked Last week, we talked for hours about our

childhood memories.

travel traveled They traveled to Europe last summer and

explored many beautiful cities.

walk walked She walked along the beach and enjoyed the
soothing sound of the waves.

watch watched We watched a thrilling movie at the cinema

last night.

Irregular Past Participles

However, some other past participles are formed differently, and some don’t look like their
past tense forms.

Irregular participles don’t follow a specific pattern and can have many different
endings such as: “-en,” “-n,” “-ne” and “-t.”

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Infinitive Past
(Irregular Verb) Tense Example Sentence

awake awoke She awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her
window.

begin began The concert began with a dazzling light show.

break broke He accidentally broke the vase while cleaning the

room.

come came The news came as a surprise to everyone.

choose chose After much contemplation, she chose the blue dress
for the party.

do did Despite the challenges, they did their best to complete

the project on time.

drink drank After a long day at work, he sat down and drank a
refreshing glass of water.

drive drove She drove carefully along the winding mountain road.

eat ate They ate a delicious meal at their favorite restaurant.

fall fell The leaves fell from the trees as autumn arrived.

fly flew The eagle flew gracefully across the sky.

forget forgot Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his passport to the

airport.

freeze froze The lake froze over during the harsh winter.

go went They went on a spontaneous road trip to explore new

places.

grow grew The small seed grew into a tall and sturdy oak tree.

have had They had a wonderful time at the beach during their
vacation.

is was The weather was perfect for a picnic in the park.

were

make made She made a beautiful handmade card for her friend's
birthday.

run ran He ran a marathon and achieved a personal best time.

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 Infinitive Past
(Irregular Verb) Tense Example Sentence

see saw She saw a breathtaking sunset over the ocean.

sing sang The choir sang a captivating melody during the

concert.

sink sank The ship sank after hitting an iceberg.

take took He took a photograph to capture the moment.

write wrote She wrote a heartfelt letter to express her gratitude.

The best way to learn the irregular past participles is by memorizing them. Here are a few
more irregular verbs in their past and past participle forms.

Infinitive Past Tense Past Participle

Awake Awoke Awoken

Drive Drove Driven

Fly Flew Flown

See Saw Seen

Take Took Taken

Forget Forgot Forgotten

Grow Grew Grown

Fall Fell Fallen

Sink Sank Sunk

OK, that’s it. You now know the differences between the past tense and the past participle
and can form them on your own, right?

To practice, look up a news article online and try to find some words you think are past tense
or part participles. Then take a guess which type of word they are.

You can also find examples in use in English videos. Listen closely for how and when the two
are formed.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks
—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

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Android app.

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Practice makes perfect, or rather: “Through diligent practice, the student had mastered the
past participle, proving once again that practice makes perfect.”

And One More Thing...

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out
FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and
funny commercials, as you can see here:

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The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions
that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and
useful examples.

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 FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

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Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples
for the word you’re learning.

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