How to Use Froze or Frozen (Explained, With Examples)

What’s the past tense of “freeze”?

The word and verb, freeze, refers to the action of, “to become hard, and often turn to ice, as a result of extreme cold: water freezes at 0°C,” as defined by the online Oxford Learner’s Dictionary.  The verb freeze has 3 verb forms, and is an irregular verb in English since it doesn’t end in –ed in either of its past tense verb forms.

Forms of the verb freeze

While the forms of freeze are strange by the standards and rules of English verb conjugations; (which explains the persistent misuse and widespread confusion amongst English speakers and irregular verb forms), these verbs are not all that irregular, considering the pattern and shared origin of many irregular verbs. Freeze in its verb forms behaves like other irregular verbs, such as speak, spoke, spoken; and rise, rose, risen.

Other irregular verbs like “freeze”

This transformation and ‘pulling down’ sound in the forms of a verb is known as the ablaut, and it reflects a Western Germanic (Proto-Indo-European) understanding of grammar and its senses or aspects. The ablaut is often conflated with the umlaut (pronounced um-lout), though there is a difference: goose/geese, and tooth/teeth or foot/feet all demonstrate the umlaut, which describes the lifting sounds within forms of a word to reflect some aspect of grammar (in this case is number).

The ablaut pattern, which, specifically is in the, “systematic vowel alteration in the root of a word to indicate shades of meaning or tense”, functions like the umlaut, though is an “off-sound” and not a lifting sound. It’s audible in the forms of numerous verbs such as the freeze, froze, and frozen, (bite, bit, bitten, and write, wrote, written; ride/rode/ridden, and so on).

What’s the difference between froze and frozen?

She froze when she saw the body.

The pipes had frozen, and so no water could come out.

The participle form of a verb always uses a helper or auxiliary verb, which, for the past perfect tense, is had (had frozen). Broadly speaking, this is sufficient for most people to see the distinction between the past tense and the past participle forms of a verb. English never is that simple though, and if you thought it was—you are demonstrably mistaken (see what I did there?) Participles are not fixed tenses so to speak; they can refer to an action or event completed in the past or at a certain time, but pair with auxiliaries or helper verbs to be able to do so.

Pro tip!

Participles participate: think of participles as being participatory in the role of a verb, and so they need help. That’s why they call in their helper friends, the helper verbs, to get the full scope of the verb’s work done!

Freeze in the simple present tense (in sentences)

Origin of the word/verb freeze

From Proto-Germanic freusan* “to freeze” (source also of Dutch vriezen, Old Norse frjosa, Old High German friosan, German frieren “to freeze,” and related to Gothic frius “frost”), from Proto-Germanic freus-, equivalent to PIE root preus- “to freeze,” also “to burn”.

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Practice: Freeze, froze, or frozen

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