Shut: Past Tense and Past Participle
Quick Answer
Shut has one form for now, for the past and after have: shut. There is no word “shutted”. Only the -ing form changes: shutting, with two t’s.
Yesterday: I shut the gate.
This week: I have shut it every night.
Shuts or Shut? The Small Clue That Shows the Time
Because shut never changes, you need other clues to know when something happened. The best clue is tiny: the letter -s.
- Every evening my dad shuts the shop at six. (now: he, she and it add -s)
- Last night my dad shut the shop at six. (past: no -s)
- My dad has shut the shop early today. (with has)
- My dad is shutting the shop right now. (happening now: double t)
So with he, she and it, shuts means now and shut means the past. With I, you, we and they, look for time words like yesterday, last week or ago.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Now (I, you, we, they) | We shut the windows when it rains. |
| Now (he, she, it) | She shuts her laptop at 5 pm. |
| Past | She shut her laptop at 5 pm yesterday. |
| With have, has or had | She has shut her laptop. |
| The -ing form | She is shutting her laptop. |
Shut or Close? Which One Should You Use?
Shut and close mean almost the same: the opposite of open. You can shut a door or close a door. But they are not always the same.
- Close is more common and a little more polite. Shops and signs use it: CLOSED, We close at 8 pm.
- Shut is shorter and stronger. People say it a lot in everyday British English: The bank’s shut. Shut the door, it’s cold!
- Use close for things that are not real doors or boxes: close a meeting, close a bank account, close a deal.
- Use shut in fixed phrases such as shut your eyes, shut down and shut up.
Easy way to remember: Signs say closed. Friends say shut.
The Rule in One Line: Shut, shut, shut. Only shutting changes, and it doubles the t.
Phrasal Verbs With Shut You Will Hear Every Day
Shut often comes with a small word after it. The past is still shut:
- The old factory shut down in 2020. (closed for good)
- I shut off the water before I fixed the tap. (stopped it coming)
- Thick curtains shut out the noise from the street. (kept it outside)
- She shut herself in her room to study for the test. (stayed inside alone)
- The children finally shut up at midnight. (became quiet; this is rude if you say it to someone)
You are doing great. Now let’s look at the mistakes learners make most often with shut.
Three Mistakes to Avoid With Shut
Nearly every learner says “shutted” at first, because almost every other verb adds -ed. If you have said it too, you are in very good company.
✗ I shutted the window because it was cold.
✓ I shut the window because it was cold.
✗ He is shuting the gate.
✓ He is shutting the gate.
✗ (to your teacher) Please shut up for a moment.
✓ Please be quiet for a moment.
How to remember: Shut belongs to a small group of short verbs that end in -t and keep their shape in the past, like hit, put, cut and let. (Not every short verb does this: sit becomes sat.) These short verbs also double the t before -ing: shutting, hitting, putting.
Test Yourself: Shut or Shutted?
Choose an answer to see your feedback immediately. Your first answer counts towards your score.
1. He _______ the front door before he left for work.
2. The shop has _______ for the holiday.
3. She _______ her eyes and made a wish.
4. We _______ the windows because of the rain.
5. The bank _______ early yesterday.
Keep Going — You Are Building Something
You just learned that shut keeps one shape, how shuts and shut show the time, and when to choose close instead. That is real, everyday English.
Now here is a puzzle. Swing sounds like it should follow sing, sang, sung. So is the past swang? Most learners guess wrong, and even some native speakers stop and think.
Next lesson: Confused by the Past Tense of Swing? Get the Facts Here
Source
Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of shut.” Online Etymology Dictionary.
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.