What’s the past tense of “throw”?
The verb and action, to throw (present tense), describes the bodily movement of, “sending something from your hand through the air by moving your hand or arm quickly”, as stated by the online Oxford Learner’s Dictionary.
Yesterday, I threw the ball to my dog.
He had thrown the frisbee before he saw the bird.
She throwed the trash in the can.
The package was throwed onto the porch.
- Throw is an irregular verb (its past tense forms don’t end in “ed”).
- Threw is the simple past tense; thrown is the past participle form.
A couple additional points of clarification: threw sounds the same as through, but they’re are not the same:
Through is an adverb or a preposition that communicates entering from “one side and out of the other side of (an opening, channel, or location)”. Threw is the past tense of the verb throw, as already mentioned.
Verb tenses of “throw”
| present | past | future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple | I throw | I threw | I will throw |
| continuous | I am throwing | I was throwing | I will be throwing |
| perfect | I have thrown | I had thrown | I will have thrown |
| perfect continuous | I have been throwing | I had been throwing | I will have been throwing |
To help remember the past tense of “throw,” create flashcards with “throw,” “threw,” and “thrown,” and practice using them in sentences. Focus on the different contexts where you’d use the simple past (“threw”) versus the past participle (“thrown”).
Threw or thrown in context
| Verb conjugation | Examples |
|---|---|
| threw |
You threw it when I asked you to hand it to him!
I think I threw it out by accident-sorry. I threw the ball as hard as I could. |
| thrown |
I had been thrown into deep end without preparation.
You’ve thrown away nearly all your winter clothes! She’s thrown all caution to the wind and is pursuing a new career path. |
Synonyms & Phrases with throw
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| throw, synonyms | toss, hurl, fling/flung, chuck, lob, pitch, pass |
| idioms/phrases | a stoneās throw away (something nearby); those who live in glass houses shouldnāt throw stones (don’t be a hypocrite); to throw someone into the deep end (expect performance without preparing someone); donāt throw good money after bad (don’t waste more money than you already have); to throw in the towel/sponge (give up); to throw caution to the wind (to be reckless over prudent); throw a monkey wrench into the works (sabotage someone’s plans or efforts) |
Other irregular verbs
| Common Conjugation Mistakes | More Conjugations |
|---|---|
|
Spread or spreaded? Set or setted? Sewed or sewn? Cost or costed? Shut or shutted? Bet or betted? |
ā¦ Seek? ā¦ Bring? ā¦ Sing? ā¦ Show? ā¦ Build? ā¦ Win? |
Practice: “Throw” irregular verbs
The quarterback _______ a perfect spiral for the winning touchdown.
She has _______ a surprise party for her brother every year since they were kids.
We searched for an hour before realizing we had _______ away the winning ticket.
In baseball, the pitcher _______ the ball to the catcher to begin the play.
The city _______ a huge parade if the home team wins the championship.
FAQs
What are the past tenses of throw?
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When do you use threw?
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When is thrown used?
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Is throwed the correct past tense?
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Do threw and through mean the same?
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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_ablautā
Yash, D. "How to Use Threw or Thrown in the Past Tense?." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/threw-or-thrown/.
