How to Use Woke vs. Woken (Irregular Verbs, Explained)

What's the past tense of "wake"?

The simple past tense of wake is woke, and the past participle is woken. Use woke for simple past and woken for past participle forms.

Definition of wake

The Oxford English Dictionary defines wake as "to become awake or cause to become awake; to come out of sleep or a state like or suggestive of sleep, as a stupor or trance; to regain consciousness." It's used in both literal and figurative senses, from physical awakening to becoming aware.

• The past tense of wake is woke.

• The past participle of wake is woken.

Verb forms of 'wake'

Is "wake" a regular or irregular verb?

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

Wake is an irregular verb that follows the pattern of other strong verbs like break/broke/broken, speak/spoke/spoken, and choose/chose/chosen. These verbs change their vowel sound in different tenses.

When to use "woke" vs. "woken"

Something woke her in the middle of the night.

They had woken as fast as they could, but still showed up late to class.

The verb wake uses different forms for simple past tense (woke) and past participle (woken). When used as a participle (shown in the second sentence), it requires an auxiliary verb like have, has, or had. The simple past doesn't use a helper verb since it's a complete tense, so woke can stand alone in sentences, whereas participles require an auxiliary verb.

Sentence examples: wake, woke, woken

Synonyms & nearby words

Origin of the word "wake"

"To become awake," a Middle English merger of Old English wacan "to become awake, arise, be born, originate," and Old English wacian "to be or remain awake," both from Proto-Germanic.

Practice: Wake conjugations

FAQs

Sources

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