What does “ride” mean?
The verb and action, to ride (simple present tense), refers to the action of, “to sit on and control a bicycle, motorcycle, etc.”, as stated by the online Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. Also, “to sit on an animal, especially a horse, and control it as it moves: ”He was riding on a large black horse.“
The word ridden also functions as an adjective. In this sense, ridden is understood as, ”full of something unpleasant or bad: It is a superstition-ridden community.”
Which is correct: rode or ridden?
The verb and action of riding (present participle), has the following verb forms:
- To ride is in the simple present tense.
- Rode is the simple past.
- Has/had/have ridden is the past participle form.
The past participle form of a verb joins an auxiliary like had to construct the past perfect tense.
The simple past tense does not use auxiliary verbs, which makes it easy to differentiate between simple and perfect or progressive tenses.
Other irregular verbs like 'ride'
| Base verb | Past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| do or does | did | done |
| write | wrote | written |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| ride | rode | ridden |
“Ride” / “rode” / “ridden”, used in sentences
| Verb: Ride | Example sentences |
|---|---|
| Ride/rides/riding |
He rides the subway home from school. I love to ride horses. I've been riding this horse for years. |
| Rode or ridden |
He rode fifty miles on horseback. They rode along the narrow country lanes. He bragged about how far he had ridden his bike to work. |
Idioms/phrases with ride
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Just along for the ride | To be there for the experience. |
| If wishes were horses, beggars would ride | Wishing for something is pointless. |
| to ride roughshod over someone | To treat others inconsiderately. |
| to ride the crest of | To enjoy great success or support. |
| to ride on one’s coattails | To benefit from the success of others. |
| to ride out the storm | To endure a difficult situation. |
Origin of the verb ride
Middle English riden, from Old English ridan “sit or be carried on” (as on horseback), “move forward; rock; float, sail” from Proto-Germanic *ridan.
Practice: ‘Ride’ conjugations
We ______ our bikes all the way to the park.
She had never ______ a horse before her vacation to the ranch.
He ______ the subway to work every morning.
Look at them ______ the carousel with big smiles on their faces.
I learned to ______ a skateboard when I was a teenager.
FAQs
What is the simple past tense of ride?
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What is the past participle of ride?
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When should I use ‘rode’?
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When should I use ‘ridden’?
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Why is ‘have rode’ incorrect?
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Sources
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Wikipedia. 2023. “Indo-European ablaut.” Wikimedia Foundation. Last modified January 10, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_ablaut.
Yash, D. "How to Use Ride, Rode, Ridden (Irregular Verbs)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/ride-rode-ridden/.
