What’s the past tense of “fall”?
The verb fall (not the season fall or autumn) is when “someone or something moves quickly downwards onto or towards the ground, by accident or because of a natural force.”
- Fall is an irregular verb (does not use “ed” in its past tenses).
- Fell is the simple past tense form; fallen is the past participle form.
Verb forms of fall
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I fall | I fell | I will fall |
| Continuous | I am falling | I was falling | I will be falling |
| Perfect | I have fallen | I had fallen | I will have fallen |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been falling | I had been falling | I will have been falling |
When to use fell vs. fallen
Both the past tense and the past perfect tense are verb tenses in English to describe actions or events that occurred in the past. However, they serve slightly different purposes and are used in different contexts. Compare the following:
I fell and hurt my wrist.
I have fallen off a horse once while riding in the countryside.
The first sentence in the past tense describes the action or event that happened in the past and is now completed. The second sentence uses the past perfect tense and shows that one past action or event happened before another past action or event. We use the past perfect tense to emphasize the sequence of events in the past.
To form the past perfect tense, use the past participle form of the verb along with the auxiliary verb, had. For example, ‘She had fallen while walking down the road.’ The key difference between the simple past and the past perfect is the duration of the actions or events they describe: the past tense describes actions in the past without emphasizing the sequence of events. The past perfect highlights that one past action or event occurred before another, emphasizing their correct order.
“Fall”/ “fell” / “fallen”, used in sentences
| Examples: fall, used in sentence examples |
| Every time I visit the hills, I fall in love with nature.
The house looked like it was about to fall down. She took a nasty fall off a horse. Apples fall from a tree when there’s a storm. |
| Examples: fell/fallen, used in sentences |
| One of the kids fell into the river.
“The leaf fell on my shoulder”. A climber fell to his death. A fallen tree obstructed the road. I sat her on a fallen log by the side of the dirt track. |
Synonyms of fall
- drop
- descend
- plummet
- tumble
- collapse
- crumble
- topple
- slip
- slide
- dip
- decline
- deteriorate
- sink
- sag
- decrease
Remember that “fall” is an irregular verb, so its past tense isn’t formed by adding “-ed”. Learn “fell” (simple past) and “fallen” (past participle) separately.
Origin of the word fall
Old English feallan (class VII strong verb; past tense feoll, past participle feallen) “to drop from a height; fail, decay, die,” from Proto-Germanic *fallanan.
Worksheet
Practice: Forms of “Fall”
The leaves ______ from the trees in autumn.
He had ______ in love with her at first sight.
She ______ asleep during the boring movie.
The price of the stock has ______ sharply this week.
Be careful not to ______ on the wet floor.
FAQs
What is the simple past of fall?
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Is “fall” a regular verb?
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When do I use fell?
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When do I use fallen?
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What is the past perfect tense?
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Sources
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“Fall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fall. Accessed 11 Mar. 2023.
Yash, D. "How to Use Fell or Fallen (Irregular Verbs)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/fell-or-fallen/.
