How to Use Blew or Blown? (Explained, With Examples)

First published on January 10, 2023 by Dalia Y.|Last revised on October 20, 2024

To ‘blow a bubble’, is the present simple tense. ‘I blew the job interview’, is the past simple, and ‘I’ve blown the opportunity,’ is the past participle.

Past Tense Of

How to Use Blew or Blown? (Explained, With Examples)

What's the past tense of "blow"?

The simple past tense of blow is blew, and the past participle is blown. Use blew for simple past and blown with auxiliary verbs like "have" or "had".

Definition of blow

The Collins Dictionary defines blow as: "If the wind blows something somewhere or if it blows there, the wind moves it there," as in A chill wind blew at the top of the hill. Also, "If you blow, you send out a stream of air from your mouth," as in Take a deep breath and blow.

The past tense of blow is blew.

The past participle of blow is blown.

Verb forms of 'blow'

Simple Cont. Perfect Perfect Cont.

Present

I/you/they blow • He/she/it blows

Past

I/you/they blew • He/she/it blew

Future

I/you/they will blow • He/she/it will blow

Present

I am/you are blowing • He/she/it is blowing

Past

I was/you were blowing • He/she/it was blowing

Future

I/you will be blowing • He/she/it will be blowing

Present

I/you have blown • He/she/it has blown

Past

I/you had blown • He/she/it had blown

Future

I/you will have blown • He/she/it will have blown

Present

I have been blowing • He/she/it has been blowing

Past

I had been blowing • He/she/it had been blowing

Future

I will have been blowing • He/she/it will have been blowing

Is "blow" a regular or irregular verb?

The verb blow is irregular. Its past tense and past participle forms are blew and blown, not "blowed." This is a pattern similar to other English verbs that change their vowel sound in the past tense, such as grow/grew/grown and know/knew/known.

Similar irregular verbs

blow

Past: blew

Past part: blown

When to use blew vs. blown

Sarah blew out all of her birthday candles.

The storm has blown over.

The verb blow uses different forms for simple past tense and present or past perfect), it requires an auxiliary verb like have, has, or had. The simple past doesn't use a helper verb since it's a complete tense, so blew can stand alone in sentences, whereas participles require an auxiliary verb.

Sentence examples: blow, blew, blown

Blow (present tense)

• I delivered a blow on his arm.

• To whistle, you need to blow softly.

• Great winds blow upon high hills.

Blew (past simple)

• She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.

• The wind blew the sign over.

• He drew on his cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke.

Blown (present or past perfect)

• The storm has blown over.

• The plane was blown up by hijackers.

• The leaves have been blown away by the storm.

Origin of the verb/word, blow

"Move air, produce a current of air," Middle English blouen, from Old English blawan "to blow (of the wind, bellows, etc.), breathe, make an air current; kindle; inflate; sound" a wind instrument, from Proto-Germanic *blæ-anan.

Practice: Irregular verbs

FAQs

What is the simple past tense of blow?

The simple past tense of the verb 'blow' is 'blew'. It is used to describe actions that happened and finished in the past, such as 'A chill wind blew at the top of the hill.'

What is the past participle of blow?

The past participle of 'blow' is 'blown'. You typically use it with a helping verb like 'have' or 'had' to form perfect tenses, as in 'The car tires have blown out!'

When do I use the word 'blew'?

Use 'blew' for the simple past tense. It describes a completed action that occurred in the past without needing a helping verb. An example from the post is 'Sarah blew out all of her birthday candles.'

When do I use the word 'blown'?

Use 'blown' as the present or past perfect) to form perfect tenses. The post uses 'The storm has blown over' as an example of its correct usage.

Why is 'blow' considered irregular?

The verb 'blow' is irregular because its past tense forms ('blew' and 'blown') do not end in '-ed'. Regular verbs, like 'walk' ('walked'), follow this standard '-ed' pattern.