Is the Right Word Put or Putted (Explained, Examples)

What's the past tense of "put"?

The simple past tense of put is put, and the past participle is also put. Use put for both simple past and past participle forms.

Definition of put

The Oxford English Dictionary defines put as "to move something into a particular place or position; to place or set something down." It's used in both literal and figurative senses, from physical placement to expressing ideas.

• The past tense of put is put.

• The past participle of put is put.

Verb forms of 'put'

Is "put" a regular or irregular verb?

Note: Regular verbs end in -ed in the past tense. Any other verb ending is considered irregular.

While an irregular verb, 'put' shows a highly common verb-conjugation pattern. Similar to other verbs like hurt, shut, bet and set, put uses one form for all tenses.

When to use "put" (past) vs. "put" (participle)

He put the book on the shelf.

I've put a lot of thought into this decision.

The participle form of a verb (shown in the second sentence) uses the auxiliary verb have as a contraction, I've.

When auxiliaries like have or had appear in the same sentence as a past participle verb form, this indicates that the verb's aspect is in the present or past perfect, and not the simple past tense.

Remember, a participle always uses a helper verb to form the complete tense or aspect. Simple tenses, on the other hand, can stand on their own.

Sentence examples: put, put, put

Synonyms & nearby words

Origin of the verb put

Middle English putten, from late Old English *putian, "to thrust, push, shove" (someone or something; a sense now obsolete), also "to move or a thing physically so as to place it in some situation".

Practice: "Put" conjugations

FAQs

Sources

1. Oxford English Dictionary. "put, v." OED Online. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.
2. Cambridge Dictionary. "put." Cambridge University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.