Quick Answer The past tense of smell is smelled or smelt. Both are correct. “Smelled” is more common in American English. “Smelt” is more common in British English. Every day: I smell the coffee in the morning. Yesterday: I smelled the coffee in the morning. Many times: I have smelt this perfume before. Smell, Smelled,…
Quick Answer The past tense of shoot is shot. It is the same with have, has, or had — always shot, never “shooted.” Shoot, Shot, Shot — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see how shoot changes? Did you see the pattern? Shoot does not add -ed. It changes to shot —…
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…
Quick Answer The past tense of leap is leaped or leapt. Both are correct. “Leaped” is more common in American English. “Leapt” is more common in British English. Every day: The cat leaps onto the table. Yesterday: The cat leaped onto the table. With “has”: The cat has leapt onto the table many times. Leap,…
Quick Answer The past tense of eat is ate. With “have,” “has,” or “had,” use eaten. Every day: I eat breakfast. Yesterday: I ate breakfast an hour ago. Many times: I have eaten breakfast already. Eat, Ate, Eaten — See the Pattern Read these sentences. Look at how the verb changes: Did you see the…
Quick Answer The past tense of break is broke. With “have” or “has,” use broken. Every day: I break things. Yesterday: I broke a glass. Many times: I have broken many glasses before. Break, Broke, Broken — See the Pattern Read these sentences. Look at how the verb changes: Did you see the pattern? There…
Quick Answer Sympathy means feeling sorry FOR someone — you care from the outside. Empathy means feeling WITH someone — you imagine yourself in their place and share the feeling. Both are kind; empathy is one step closer. Sympathy and Empathy — See the Difference Watch where the feeling happens — outside or inside: Did…
Quick Answer A participle is a word made from a verb. There are two types. The present participle ends in -ing (like running). The past participle ends in -ed (like played) or has a special form (like broken). Running, Broken, Playing — What Are Participles? Look at these sentences. The blue words are all participles:…
Quick Answer The verb “to be” is the most important verb in English. Its forms are am, is, are, was, were, and been. Example: “I am happy.” Am, Is, Are — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see which form goes with which person? Did you see the pattern? The form changes…
Quick Answer The past tense is how we talk about things that happened before now. English has 4 main past tense forms. Each one tells a different story about time. Simple example: I ate dinner. (It happened. It is finished. That is the simple past.) The 4 Past Tense Forms — See Them Side by…
