Strong writing relies on proper grammar—especially past participle verbs. These verb forms are essential for perfect tenses, passive voice, and adjective clauses. Yet, many writers mix them up.
Below are 50 must-know past participles, sorted by common trouble spots: irregular verbs, confusing pairs, and tricky spellings.
What Is a Past Participle?
A past participle is a verb form used in:
✔ Perfect tenses (has/have/had + past participle)
- She has written the report.
✔ Passive voice (be + past participle) - The song was sung beautifully.
✔ Adjective phrases - The broken vase lay on the floor.
Regular vs. Irregular Past Participles
- Regular verbs end in -ed (e.g., walked, played).
- Irregular verbs vary (e.g., eaten, driven, written)
1. Irregular Past Participles (No -ed Ending)
These common irregular verbs follow no consistent pattern, so you must memorize their forms. These don’t follow the usual “-ed” rule.
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Begin | Began | Begun | She had begun her speech before the crowd arrived. |
| Break | Broke | Broken | The vase was broken when I found it. |
| Choose | Chose | Chosen | He had chosen the blue shirt yesterday. |
| Drink | Drank | Drunk | The water was drunk by the thirsty hiker. |
| Drive | Drove | Driven | She had never driven a manual car before. |
| Eat | Ate | Eaten | The cake was eaten before the party started. |
| Fall | Fell | Fallen | The leaves had fallen by November. |
| Forgive | Forgave | Forgiven | His mistake was forgiven. |
| Freeze | Froze | Frozen | The lake had frozen overnight. |
| Give | Gave | Given | The award was given to the best performer. |
2. Commonly Confused Pairs
These verb pairs sound similar but have different past participles. Mixing them up can confuse readers.
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lay (put down) | Laid | Laid | She had laid the book on the table. |
| Lie (recline) | Lay | Lain | He had lain on the couch all morning. |
| Rise (go up) | Rose | Risen | The sun had risen before we woke. |
| Raise (lift up) | Raised | Raised | She had raised her hand to ask a question. |
| Hang (suspend) | Hung | Hung | The picture was hung on the wall. |
| Hang (execute) | Hanged | Hanged | In history, criminals were hanged. |
3. Frequently Misspelled Past Participle
Even strong writers stumble on these. Double-check their correct forms. Watch out for these tricky spellings.
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write | Wrote | Written | The letter was written in haste. |
| See | Saw | Seen | The movie had been seen by millions. |
| Take | Took | Taken | The keys were taken by mistake. |
| Speak | Spoke | Spoken | She had spoken to the manager already. |
| Wear | Wore | Worn | His shoes were worn out. |
4. Regular Verbs That Sound Irregular
These follow the “-ed” rule but are often mistaken for irregular verbs.
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burn | Burned | Burned/Burnt | The toast had burned. (US) / The toast had burnt.(UK) |
| Dream | Dreamed | Dreamed/Dreamt | She had dreamed of traveling. |
| Learn | Learned | Learned/Learnt | He had learned the lesson well. |
5. Verbs with Multiple Forms
Some verbs have two acceptable past participle forms, depending on dialect or meaning.
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shine | Shined | Shined (polish) | He had shined his shoes. |
| Shine | Shone | Shone (glow) | The sun had shone brightly. |
| Sink | Sank | Sunk | The boat had sunk in the storm. |