What's the past tense of "read"?
The present, past tense, and present or past perfect).
Definition of read
The verb read means "to look at and comprehend the meaning of written or printed matter by interpreting the characters or symbols." It can also mean "to speak written or printed words aloud" or "to have the ability to examine and understand the meaning of written or printed matter."
- The past tense of read is read (pronounced "red").
- The present or past perfect).
Verb forms of 'read'
Is "read" a regular or irregular verb?
Read is an irregular verb because its past tense form does not end in -ed. While the spelling remains the same across all three forms (present, past, and present or past perfect), the pronunciation changes. Regular verbs form their past tense by adding -ed, whereas irregular verbs like read follow unique patterns.
When to use read vs read
The verb read uses the same spelling for both simple past tense and present or past perfect), it's pronounced "red." The simple past doesn't use a helper verb since it's a complete tense, so read can stand alone in sentences, whereas participles require an auxiliary verb like have, has, or had.
Simple past: I read about cats the other day. (pronounced "red")
Past participle: I had read about cats, but I still wasn't prepared to own one. (pronounced "red")
The key difference is context: had read indicates that reading was done before some other point in the past, showing the order of events. Still unsure about participles? You can learn more about them here.
Similar irregular verbs
Read sounds similar to verbs that change their vowel sound in the past tense (from "ee" to "ed"), though unlike those listed below, read keeps the same spelling:
Sentence examples: read, read, read
• I read the newspaper every morning.
• She reads books on the train to work.
• They read to their children every night before bed.
• I read an interesting article last night.
• He read the instructions carefully before starting.
• When he was a kid, he only ever read comic books.
• I have read this book ten times already!
• She had read the textbook long before the semester started.
• They have read all the Harry Potter books multiple times.
Synonyms & nearby words
Synonyms for read
Nearby phrases
Practice: forms of "read"
Yesterday, I ______ the entire book in one sitting.
Have you ______ the latest report from the committee?
She ______ a new chapter every night before bed.
He had ______ the instructions carefully before starting.
Please ______ the directions on the package before you begin.
Origin of the verb/word, read
Middle English reden, ireden, "to counsel, advise," also "to read," from Old English rædan, gerædan (West Saxon), redan, geredan (Anglian) "to advise, counsel, persuade; discuss, deliberate; rule, guide; arrange, equip; forebode." This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *redan, source also of Old Norse raða, Old Frisian reda, Dutch raden, Old High German ratan, German raten "to advise, counsel, interpret, guess," from PIE root *re- "to reason, count."
FAQs
What is the past tense of "read"?
How is past tense "read" pronounced?
Is "read" a regular or irregular verb?
Is "read" the past participle form too?
How is the past participle "read" used?
Sources
- Oxford English Dictionary, "read, v."
- Etymology Online, "read (v.)"
- Cambridge Dictionary, "read."
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "read."
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