Is the past tense “sweeped” or “swept”?
It’s sing, sang, sung, and ring, rang, rung; so shouldn’t it also be sweep, swap, swept? Not so fast, says the rules of English verb conjugation–no two verbs are created equal.
The verb and common household chore, to sweep, that is, “clean (an area) by brushing away dirt or litter”, has one past verb form, which is swept.
Sweeped, though logical to assume would be the past tense of sweep, is regarded as a misspelling and nonstandard way to denote the past tense of sweep. In other words, we recommend sticking with swept as both the past tense and past participle form of the verb, sweep.
Forms of sweep
| Present | Past | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I sweep or he/she sweeps | I swept | I will sweep |
| Continuous | I am sweeping | I was sweeping | I will be sweeping |
| Perfect | I have swept | I had swept | I will have swept |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been sweeping | I had been sweeping | I will have been sweeping |
The past participle form of sweep, which is the same as its past tense form, i.e., both are swept, is distinct from its use of auxiliaries (had). This creates a more complex tense known as the past perfect tense, which clarifies the order in which past actions transpired.
Sweep, swept in sentence examples
| Verb form | Example Sentences |
|---|---|
| Sweep (sweeps or sweeping) |
I was giving the floor a quick sweep. I could hear them sweeping and cleaning from my room. Don't sweep glass without protection. |
| Swept (past tenses and past participle) |
I swept the kitchen floor this morning. We were swept away by their hospitality. |
| Haave, has, or had swept |
I have swept many times and somehow it's still dirty. We had swept and cleaned all morning, overwhelmed by the stress of my in-law's visiting. |
Quotes from literature and media
Let us sweep, then, our past conference from our recollection.
Leaning against the railing, she impatiently swept off the snowy lemon leaves.
If the stakes he sweep.
Snyonyms, nearby words, and phrases
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| synonyms | brush, clean, wipe, mop, scrub, scour, scrape |
| phrases | to sweep something under the rug/aside (to ignore a problem), to be swept off your feet (to be immediately attracted), a new broom sweeps clean (usually in a work setting, meaning new people bring new perspectives) |
Origin of the verb sweep
Early 14c., “make clean by sweeping with a broom;” mid-14c., “perform the act of sweeping,” of uncertain origin, perhaps from a past tense form of Middle English swope “sweep,” from Old English swapan “to sweep” (transitive & intransitive)
Worksheet: ‘sweep’ conjugations
She ______ the entire house before the guests arrived.
The new trend is ______ the nation, gaining popularity everywhere.
The janitor ______ the hallways every evening to keep them tidy.
The powerful storm had ______ away everything in its path.
Before you mop, please ______ the kitchen floor.
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