Burst or Bursted: What’s the Correct Past Tense of Burst?

Burst, Burst, Burst — See the Pattern

Read these sentences. Watch what happens to the verb:

• Balloons burst if you blow them up too much. (now — it happens often)
• The water pipe burst last winter. (past — it is finished)
• The pipes have burst twice this year. (past with “have”)

Did you see it? The word never changes. It is always burst.

Why You Never Say “Bursted”

Most English verbs add -ed to make the past tense. For example: walk → walked, play → played.

But burst is different. It is an irregular verb — and a special kind. It does not change at all:

• Now: The bag bursts open.
• Yesterday: The bag burst open.
• With “has”: The bag has burst open before.

Easy way to remember: Think of cut. You do not say “cutted.” You say “I cut the paper yesterday.” Burst works the same way — it never changes.

How to Use Burst in Everyday English

Here are sentences you might use or hear every day:

• She burst into tears when she heard the news. (suddenly started crying)
• The kids burst out laughing at the joke. (suddenly started laughing)
• He burst through the door and shouted “I passed!” (ran through very fast)
• The tyre has burst — we need to stop the car. (with “has” — still burst)
• The river burst its banks after all the rain. (water went over the edges)

You are doing great. Now let’s look at the mistake almost everyone makes.

The Most Common Mistake With Burst

Even native speakers’ children say “bursted” when they are learning to talk — so if you have made this mistake, you are not alone. It is completely natural to want to add -ed. But with this verb, you never do.

How to remember: “Bursted” is not a word. If you ever want to write “bursted,” just cross out the “-ed.” It is always burst.

Other verbs like this: cut → cut → cut, put → put → put, shut → shut → shut, hit → hit → hit, split → split → split.

Test Yourself: Burst or Bursted?

Choose the correct answer for each sentence. Click Check to see if you are right.

Keep Going — You Are Building Something

You just learned that burst never changes. That is one more irregular verb you will never get wrong again.

You know that burst, cut, put, and hit all stay the same. But what about the verb hurt? Most learners say “hurted” at some point. Is that a word? And does hurt really follow the same pattern as burst — or is there a catch?

Next lesson: Hurt or Hurted — What Is the Past Tense of Hurt?

Sources

Grammar Wiki — Past Tense of Burst

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of burst.” Online Etymology Dictionary