Try your verbal vigor with this fun 10-question quiz on past participles!

"Began" is the _____________ (past tense, past participle) of "to begin."

past tense

past participle

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

The past participle of "begin" is "begun," as in "They have begun diagramming those sentences."

That’s correct! Here’s why:

The past participle of "begin" is "begun," as in "They have begun diagramming those sentences."

What is the past participle of "to drive"?

drove

driven

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

The past participle is "driven," as in "They have just driven the car off the lot." "Drove" is the past tense.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

The past participle is "driven," as in "They have just driven the car off the lot." "Drove" is the past tense.

The past participle of "to think" is ___________ its past tense.

the same as

different from

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

The past tense and the past participle of "to think" are both "thought": He thought, he has thought.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

The past tense and the past participle of "to think" are both "thought": He thought, he has thought.

For the verb "to read," the third-person plural present tense and the past participle are ____________________.

spelled and pronounced the same way

spelled and pronounced differently

spelled differently and pronounced the same

spelled the same and pronounced differently

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

The third-person plural present tense is "read," pronounced to rhyme with "seed." The past participle is also spelled "read," as in "They have all read that book," but it is pronounced to rhyme with "red."

That’s correct! Here’s why:

They shouldn't have ____ (run, ran) the first lap so fast.

run

ran

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

"Ran" is the past tense. "Run" is the past participle. He ran, but he has run.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

"Ran" is the past tense. "Run" is the past participle. He ran, but he has run.

She has just ____ (lain, laid) down for a nap.

lain

laid

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

Here's a summary of the forms for "to lie" as in "to lie down":

present: She lies down.
past: She lay down.
present perfect: She has lain down.

"To lay" as in "to lay a book down" is a different verb. Here at Syntaxis we apologize for this confusing verb situation.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

Here's a summary of the forms for "to lie" as in "to lie down":

present: She lies down.
past: She lay down.
present perfect: She has lain down.

"To lay" as in "to lay a book down" is a different verb. Here at Syntaxis we apologize for this confusing verb situation.

I would have _____ (swam, swum) in the morning if I had had time.

swam

swum

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

"Swam" is the past tense. The standard past participle—meaning the form that comes after that "have" in the sentence above—is "swum."

That’s correct! Here’s why:

"Swam" is the past tense. The standard past participle—meaning the form that comes after that "have" in the sentence above—is "swum."

They should have _____ (drank, drunk) less.

drank

drunk

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

"Drunk" is the past participle. "Drunk" is the form that comes after "have." "Drank" is the past tense.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

"Drunk" is the past participle. "Drunk" is the form that comes after "have." "Drank" is the past tense.

They have _______ (lead, led) their team to the nationals three years in a row.

lead

led

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

Here are the forms of "to lead":

present tense: Marly leads her team to victory.
past tense: Marly led her team to victory.
present perfect: Marly has led her team to victory.

That’s correct! Here’s why:

Here are the forms of "to lead":

present tense: Marly leads her team to victory.
past tense: Marly led her team to victory.
present perfect: Marly has led her team to victory.

What is the past participle of "to give"?

given

gave

give

Incorrect, but never fear—an explanation is here!

The past participle is the second verb in present perfect—the verb form that goes after the "have" conjugation.

present perfect: has given
past participle: given

That’s correct! Here’s why:

The past participle is the second verb in present perfect—the verb form that goes after the "have" conjugation.

present perfect: has given
past participle: given

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