Irregular Verb Conjugations, How to Use Wrote or Written?

What's the past tense of "write"?

The simple past tense of write is wrote, and the past participle is written. To write in proper English, one must be familiar with the language's verb conjugations, both regular and irregular.

Definition of write

The Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines write as "making letters or numbers on a surface, especially using a pen or a pencil."

The past tense of write is wrote.
The past participle of write is written.

Verb forms of 'write'

Simple Cont. Perfect Perfect Cont.

Present

I/you/they write • He/she/it writes

Past

I/you/they wrote • He/she/it wrote

Future

I/you/they will write • He/she/it will write

Present

I am/you are writing • He/she/it is writing

Past

I was/you were writing • He/she/it was writing

Future

I/you will be writing • He/she/it will be writing

Present

I/you have written • He/she/it has written

Past

I/you had written • He/she/it had written

Future

I/you will have written • He/she/it will have written

Present

I have been writing • He/she/it has been writing

Past

I had been writing • He/she/it had been writing

Future

I will have been writing • He/she/it will have been writing

Is "write" a regular or irregular verb?

Write is an irregular verb— its past conjugations are wrote (simple past) and written (past participle). This makes write one of those irregular verbs with multiple past tense forms, similar to eat/ate/eaten and bite/bit/bitten.

When to use wrote vs. written

She wrote him several poems.

He had written the role specifically for Rita Hayworth.

The participle form of a verb (shown in the second sentence) uses the auxiliary verb, had. This indicates that the participle form of the verb is in use, and not the simple past. The simple past doesn't use a helper verb since it's a complete tense, so wrote can stand alone in sentences, whereas participles require an auxiliary verb.

Similar irregular verbs

These verbs follow similar irregular patterns to write, with different forms for the simple past and past participle.

write

Past: wrote

Past part: written

Sentence examples: write, wrote, written

Write (present tense)

• I write in my journal every evening.

• She writes for a living.

• Which opera did Verdi first write?

Wrote (past simple)

• Shakespeare wrote many famous plays.

• She wrote him several poems.

• The children wrote a story on their favourite animals.

Written (present or past perfect)

• The author has written several books.

• He had written the role specifically for Rita Hayworth.

• Her novels were written under the pseudonym Currer Bell.

Synonyms & nearby words

Synonyms for write

compose draft document record scrawl print

Nearby phrases

write down write up write off write back write out

Common phrases with "write"

Nothing to write home about

For something to be unremarkable or not noteworthy so as to have nothing to say about it.

To write one's own ticket

To have complete control over one's situation or to set one's own terms.

Written on water

Opposite of written on stone; as in, impermanent or ephemeral.

To write a bum check

To write a fake or bad check (also spelled cheque).

FAQs

What is the simple past tense of write?

"Wrote" is the simple past tense form of write. We use the simple past to refer to events that occurred entirely in the past.

What verb form is written?

Written is the past participle form. It pairs with complementary verbs like "had" or "have" to form perfect tenses or passive voice constructions.

When is the verb 'wrote' used?

It's used for completed actions in the past and stands alone without a helper verb, as shown in "She wrote him several poems."

When is 'written' used?

"Written" is the past participle form. It is used in conjunction with auxiliary verbs like "have" or "had" to form tenses such as the present perfect ("has written") or in passive voice constructions.

Do wrote and written use helper verbs?

"Wrote," being the simple past tense, does not require a helper verb. However, "written," the past participle form, is used together with auxiliary verbs like 'had' or 'have'.

Sources

"Write, V." Oxford Learner's Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Accessed October 25, 2025. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
"Write, V." Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers. Accessed October 25, 2025. https://www.collinsdictionary.com