Take, Took, Taken: Verbs With -en Participles

See the Pattern First

Three different words for one verb. The third always ends in -en.

• I take the bus. I took it today. I have taken it all week.
• She writes well. She wrote to me. She has written twice.
• They choose carefully. They chose red. They have chosen already.
• The sun rises. It rose at six. It has risen.

Three forms means you must not mix them up. “I have took” is wrong because took is the past, not the participle. The -en form belongs to have.

The Full List — 15 Verbs

This is the group worth real practice. Cover the third column and test yourself.

These come up often, so they have their own full lesson with more practice: the past tense of break and the past tense of eat and forget, forgot, forgotten.

The Rule That Stops Every Mistake

Ask one question before choosing: is there a form of “have” in this sentence? Have, has, had — any of them.

If yes, use the -en form: “I have taken”, “she has written”, “they had chosen”. If no, use the past form: “I took”, “she wrote”, “they chose”. That single question prevents almost every error in this family.

Two That Do Not End in -en

Two members hide inside this family with a different ending:

• tear → tore → torn (not “toren”)
• wear → wore → worn (not “woren”)

They still follow the have-rule perfectly — only the spelling of the ending differs.

More Verbs Like Take, Took, Taken

Seven more verbs whose third form ends in -en or -n, one at a time.

Step 1: Give, Gave, Given

Examples:

• I give my friend a call every weekend. (now — it happens every time)
• She gave me her phone number yesterday. (past — it is finished)
• They have given us so much help this year. (with have — it connects the past to now)

How to remember: Say the sentence out loud. If you hear have, has, or had, the next word should be given. If there is no helping word, use gave.

Step 2: Shake, Shook, Shaken

Examples:

• I shake my head when I mean “no.” (now — it happens often)
• She shook his hand at the meeting yesterday. (past — it is finished)
• The ground has shaken three times this year. (past with “has”)

How to remember: Think of take, took, taken. It follows the same pattern: shake, shook, shaken. The middle changes to -ook in the past and -aken with have/has/had.

Step 3: Swear, Swore, Sworn

Examples:

• She swears she is telling the truth. (now — every day)
• She swore she was telling the truth. (past — it is finished)
• She has sworn to tell the truth. (past with “has”)

How to remember: Think of wear, wore, worn. It follows the same pattern: swear, swore, sworn. The ending changes from -ear → -ore → -orn.

Step 4: Strike, Struck, Stricken

Examples:

• The workers strike every year for better pay. (now — it happens often)
• Lightning struck the tree last night. (past — it is finished)
• He has struck the ball over the fence three times. (past with “has”)

How to remember: Think of the word “sick” hiding inside “stricken.” Sick = suffering. So stricken is for suffering. Everything else uses struck.

Step 5: See, Saw, Seen

Examples:

• I see my friends every day. (now)
• I saw my friends yesterday. (past — no helping word)
• I have seen that film three times. (past — with a helping word)

How to remember: Ask yourself — is there a helping word (have, has, had) before it? If yes, use seen. If no, use saw. That is the only rule you need.

Step 6: Bite, Bit, Bitten

Examples:

• The dog bites people sometimes. (now — present)
• The dog bit me yesterday. (past)
• The dog has bitten three people this year. (with have/has/had)

How to remember: Think of “bite, bit, bitten” like “hide, hid, hidden” and “write, wrote, written.” They all follow a similar pattern! If you can remember one set, the others feel easier.

Step 7: Mistake, Mistook, Mistaken

Examples:

• I often mistake salt for sugar. (now, present)
• Yesterday, she mistook me for my sister. (past)
• He has mistaken the time of the meeting. (with has)

How to remember: Think of “take.” You would never say “I have took” — you say “I have taken.” It is the same with mistake: “I have mistaken,” not “I have mistook.”

Mistakes Learners Make (You Are Not Alone)

Every one of these is the same error: past form where the participle belongs.

• ✗ I have took the bus → ✓ I have taken the bus
• ✗ she has wrote a letter → ✓ she has written a letter
• ✗ the glass has broke → ✓ the glass has broken

These are so common that you will hear native speakers say them. In writing and in exams, the -en form after “have” is what is expected.

Your Turn — Quick Quiz

Five questions. Take your time — the table above is still there if you need it.

Given is another participle ending in -en. Compare give, gave and given and decide which form follows have or has.

Keep Going

That is the largest verb family in English, handled with one question.

Some verbs go somewhere stranger. Teach becomes taught. Catch becomes caught. Bring becomes brought. Where does that heavy “-ought” sound come from?

Next lesson: Taught, caught, brought: the -ought family

Sources

• Cambridge Dictionary — Nouns: plural forms
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

Khamis Maiouf

I’m Khamis Maiouf. I’m studying Health and Social Care and have completed Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Level 3 Hairdressing. I have taught ESOL in my community and helped students with GCSE English. I run English Teacher Site to help people learn and practise English.