Draw is an irregular verb with a number of different meanings. One of the most common meanings is “make a picture of” (e.g., “Elise drew the west facade of Notre Dame from memory”).
Past tense of draw in a sentence examples
Meaning
Example
Make a picture of
The portraits Eric drew were breathtaking.
Move or pull
Brent drew his chair closer to the fire because he was cold.
Open or close
Sylvia drew the drapes to let the sun in.
Deploy a weapon
The masked attacker drew a fearsome-looking knife.
Breathe
Sonia paused, drew a deep breath, and started her routine.
Drink is an irregular verb. Its simple past tense is drank, and the past participle is drunk. They are often confused in everyday speech, and you will encounter both words used for both purposes. In academic writing, however, it is important to use them correctly.
Past tense of drink in a sentence examples
Simple past of drink
Past participle of drink
The horse must have been thirsty, as she drank for nearly five minutes straight!
I had never drunk a better-tasting lemonade in my life.
I couldn’t believe how much water I drank during the race.
All the punch had been drunk by the time I arrived.
NoteThe past tense of drink can be confusing, partly because drink is a noun, meaning “a liquid for consumption,” and drunk is also a noun (someone who is presently or frequently intoxicated). Not to mention, drunk is an adjective, meaning “intoxicated,” and is used interchangeably with drunken.
Word
Example
Drink (noun)
Homemade lemonade is Gabi’s favorite drink.
Drink (verb)
Be careful what you drink when you’re at the club.
Drunk (noun)
Sadly, Sam was known as the town drunk.
Drunk (verb)
I had drunk the last drop of water hours ago, and I was so thirsty.
Drunk (adjective)
Everyone seems to have a drunk uncle at their wedding.
Drunken (adjective)
The aftermath of the drunken party last night was not a pretty sight.
Seek, meaning “look for, search,” is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the regular conjugation of adding “-ed” for the past tense. Instead, it changes to sought for both the simple past and past participle.
Seek followed by the infinitive of another verb can also mean “try” or “attempt.” The past tenses are the same (e.g., “Caitlin had sought to please everyone and had triumphed!”).
Past tense of seek in a sentence examplesOur forebears sought the best locations for their settlements, much to our benefit.
Although Sean had sought solutions to his computer problems, they had defeated him.
Every year, the top-selling toy had been sought by parents desperate to please their children.
The simple past tense and past participle of bring is brought. Bring is an irregular verb that means “cause something or someone to come with you from one place to another.” It can be something you carry, something that simply accompanies you, or something more abstract (e.g., “The thunderstorm brought cooler, cleaner air to the mountains”).
Bring can also mean “cause” or “make happen” (e.g., “The ceremony brought the event to a close”).
Some dictionaries recognize “brung” as a nonstandard form of the verb, but it should not be used in academic writing.
Past tense of bring in a sentence examplesJoel brought everything he needed for his week’s holiday in one small backpack.
The singer’s rousing finale had brought the crowd to its feet in rapture!
Nobody knew who had brought the cake, but everyone enjoyed it!
Shine is a verb that means “give off a bright light” or “polish something.” The past tense can cause some confusion because it is shined or shone depending on the meaning, and it can vary between American and British English.
In general, in American English, when shine is a transitive verb (i.e., a verb that takes a direct object) the simple past tense and past participle are both shined (e.g., “He shined the silver candlesticks”). As an intransitive verb (i.e., a verb that has no direct object) the past tense and past participle are shone (e.g., “The moon shone bright that night”).
Past tense of shine in a sentence examples
Shine as a transitive verb
Shine as an intransitive verb
As the youngest child, Jeff shined everyone’s shoes each night.
Gail had excitedly shined her new flashlight in the darkness.
The chrome on the classic Jaguar shone in the bright sunlight.
For a while her fame had shone before her popularity faded away.
This is more of a general principle than a strict rule. You will often hear shined and shone used interchangeably in American English, but only “shined” is appropriate when used to mean “polish.”
Lie is a verb that means “be in a horizontal position.” It is an irregular verb with the simple past tense form lay (e.g., “The cat lay on the mat”) and the past participlelain (e.g., “The snow had lain undisturbed for days”).
Lie is also used with the meaning “be in place” (e.g., “The first aid kit lay ready for immediate use”) or as a synonym for “be” (e.g., “The answer lay in the notebook”).
Past tense of lie in a sentence examples
Past tense of lie
Past participle of lie
The commandos lay hidden in the long grass, waiting for the patrol to appear.
I was so tired I lay down the moment I reached home.
The destination lay just over the horizon.
From the moment he had lain on the bed, he had slept.
The virus had lain dormant for years, but now it was active and dangerous.
The guilt had lain on his shoulders for longer than he could remember.
NotePart of the confusion with the past tense of lie is that there is a completely different verb “lie,” meaning “tell an untruth, deceive,” which is spelled the same. Lie in this sense is a regular verb with the past tense and past participle “lied.”
The QuillBot Paraphraser can help you rephrase sentences to avoid ambiguity and mistakes.
Drag has many meanings, but most of them relate to something being moved with some difficulty from one place to the other. In its most common usage, it means “pull (with difficulty) along the ground.”
Dragged in a sentence examplesThe bag was too heavy to carry, so Filip dragged it behind him.
I was desperate to go to the concert with someone, so I dragged Julie along.
Fiona was frustrated that when she dragged the image to a new location, the text became misaligned.
NoteRegular verbs form the past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” to the infinitive. In some cases where the infinitive ends in a consonant, the consonant is doubled up (e.g., “dragged,” “bagged,” “lagged,” and “snagged”).
