Know Knew Known: Mastering the Correct Past Tense and Participle Forms of “Know”

Know, Knew, Known — See the Pattern

Read these sentences. Look at how the verb changes:

• I know his name. (now — I have this information)
• She knew the answer on the test yesterday. (past — it is finished)
• We have known each other since school. (past with “have”)

Did you see the pattern? There are three forms:

When to Use Knew and When to Use Known

This is the part that confuses many learners. Here is the simple rule:

Use “knew” when you talk about the past — something that is finished:

• I knew the answer, but I forgot it. (past — it is finished)
• She knew everyone at the party. (past — it is finished)

Use “known” when there is a helping word before it — have, has, or had:

• I have known him for ten years. (with “have” — use known)
• She has known the truth since Monday. (with “has” — use known)
• They had known about the problem before we told them. (with “had” — use known)

Easy way to remember: If you see have, has, or had before it, use known. If not, use knew.

How to Use Know, Knew, and Known in Everyday English

Here are examples you might use every day:

• I knew it was going to rain, but I left my umbrella at home. (past — it is finished)
• She knew the song, so she sang along. (past — it is finished)
• He has known about the surprise party for days. (with “has” — use known)
• We have known our neighbours since we moved here. (with “have” — use known)
• Do you know where the shop is? (now — asking about right now)

You are doing great. Now let’s look at the mistakes many learners make.

Three Mistakes to Avoid With Know

These are the most common mistakes with “know.” Even advanced learners mix up “knew” and “known” sometimes — so if you get confused, you are not alone.

How to remember: Think of grow, grew, grown. It follows the same pattern: know, knew, known. The vowel changes to -ew in the past and -own with have/has/had.

Other verbs like this: grow → grew → grown, throw → threw → thrown, blow → blew → blown.

Test Yourself: Know, Knew, or Known?

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

Keep Going — You Are Building Something

You just learned know, knew, known. That is one more irregular verb you will never get wrong again.

But did you know that shake follows a similar pattern? Shake, shook, shaken — three different forms. Many learners use “shook” when they should use shaken. Do you know when to use each one?

Next lesson: Shook or Shaken — Which One is Correct?

Source

Wikipedia. 2023. “Indo-European ablaut.” Wikimedia Foundation.

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