What does fall off the wagon mean?

“Fall off the wagon” means “to stop participating in a healthy lifestyle change.” For example, if someone quits using tobacco for a year and then starts again, they have fallen off the wagon. If someone starts exercising every day and stops, that’s also falling off the wagon.

The idiom “fall off the wagon” came from the temperance movement in the early 1900s and refers to a water wagon. Someone who quit drinking alcohol was “on the water wagon.” If they started again, they were “off the water wagon.”

When you’re curious about other idioms and phrasal verbs with “fall,” QuillBot’s AI Chat can provide quick answers.

Verbs: Other interesting questions

What is the difference between the subjunctive and indicative moods?: The subjunctive mood is used to express desires, wishes, suggestions, obligations, and demands or requests (e.g., “We ask that you turn off your cell phone”).

The indicative mood is used to make statements, ask questions, or describe conditions (e.g., “Piet seems nice”).
What is the subjunctive used for?: The subjunctive mood is used to describe unreal or hypothetical situations and to express desires, wishes, suggestions, obligations, and requests or demands.

Some examples of sentences that use the subjunctive mood include:

“Khadija suggests that I donate money.” [request]

“It is crucial that he understand the consequences.” [obligation]

“We insist that there be enough food for everyone.” [demand]
What is a grammatical mood?: Grammatical moods refer to how verbs are used to indicate the intention of a sentence or the speaker’s attitude toward what they are saying.

English has three grammatical moods:

Indicative mood is used for statements of fact, questions, or conditions.

Imperative mood is used to issue commands.

Subjunctive mood is used to describe unreal situations and to express wishes, desires, suggestions, obligations, and requests or demands.
What is the past participle of ride?: Ridden is the past participle of the verb ride. “Ride” is an irregular verb, so its simple past form (“rode”) is different from its past participle.

The past participle is used for perfect tenses (e.g., “The winning team had ridden the course in record time”) and for the passive voice (e.g., “The messenger’s horse had been ridden hard”).

A QuillBot grammar check can help ensure you’re using the past participle of “ride” correctly.
What is the simple past of ride?: Rode is the simple past form of the verb ride. It is sometimes used incorrectly as the past participle, but this is always a mistake in formal English writing (the correct past participle is “ridden”).

The simple past describes an action that has taken place in the past (e.g., “He rode past the White House on his way to work”).

If you want to make sure you are using the correct tenses, you can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What is the “-ing” form of a verb?: The verb form that ends in “-ing” is known as the present participle. Present participles are used in progressive verb tenses (e.g., “I am studying,” “she had been eating”) and as adjectives (e.g., “a tiring hike”).

The “-ing” form of a verb is also used in gerunds, but gerunds operate as nouns (e.g., “Skiing is dangerous”).
When do we use the present progressive?: The present progressive tense (also known as the present continuous) is used to describe an action that is currently happening (e.g., “He is working now”) or plans or intentions (e.g., “I am starting a new job next week”).

The present progressive differs from the simple present, which is used to describe a general truth (e.g., “Birds fly south for winter”), a habit (e.g., “Monica teaches on Thursdays”), or a fixed state (e.g., “He looks like his dad”).
What is the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?: The present perfect and the present perfect continuous (present perfect progressive) are both verb tenses that are used to refer to the current effects of a past action or event. There are some differences between the two tenses, though:

The present perfect is used to refer to past occurrences that may continue in the present (e.g., “I have traveled to six countries”).

The present perfect continuous describes occurrences that started in the past and are ongoing (e.g., “I have been trying to talk to the doctor since last week”).

Need help with grammar and formatting? Try QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker.
What is the difference between the present perfect and the simple past?: Both the simple past and the present perfect are verb tenses that are used to refer to past actions, but there are some differences in their use:

The present perfect describes an action that happened in the past and has present effects or that began in the past and might continue (e.g., “I have seen that movie three times”).

The simple past typically describes an action that happened at a specific time in the past and won’t continue (e.g., “I ate a waffle for breakfast”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use both of these tense correctly in your writing.
Which mood is used to state facts or opinions?: The indicative mood is used to state facts or opinions and to ask questions (e.g., “Stella is an engineer,” “That is the cutest dog I’ve ever seen,” “Will you go with me?”). It is the most common grammatical mood in English and can be used with every verb tense.
What is an indicative sentence?: An indicative sentence is a sentence that states a fact or opinion or asks a question (e.g., “I worked all day,” “Basketball is more fun than baseball,” “Do you like coffee?”).

The verbs of indicative sentences are considered to be in the indicative mood, which is the most common of the three moods in English: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.
What is the past tense of dream?: The past tense form of “dream” is dreamed or dreamt. “Dreamed” is more common in American English, and “dreamt” is more common in British English. The past tense form is used when describing a past action (e.g., “I dreamed/dreamt I was a bird”).

The past participle of “dream” is also “dreamed” or “dreamt” (e.g., “I had dreamed/dreamt of being a doctor for years”).

QuillBot’s grammar check tool can help ensure you’re using the past tense of “dream” correctly.
What is the past tense of teach?: The past tense form of “teach” is “taught.” It is used to describe an action that occurred in the past (e.g., “My parents taught me how to ride a bike”).

The past participle of “teach” is also “taught” (e.g., “He had taught for thirty years when he retired”).
What is the past tense of fly?: The past tense form of “fly” is “flew.” It is used to describe an action that occurred in the past (e.g., “She flew to Tokyo from London”).

The past participle of “fly” is “flown” (e.g., “We had already flown to Chicago when we found out the wedding was canceled”).

A QuillBot grammar check can help ensure you’re using the past tense of “fly” correctly.
What is an example of a dangling participle?: An example of a dangling participle is “running at great speed, the dog’s nose started twitching.”

This includes a participial phrase, “running at great speed,” that seems to describe the wrong noun. Although it should describe the dog, the noun that follows the phrase is “the dog’s nose,” making it sound like the nose is running instead of the dog. A better way to phrase this sentence is “as the dog was running at great speed, its nose started twitching.”
Are dangling participles bad?: Dangling participles are grammatical errors that can result in confusing or absurd sentences and should be avoided. They involve participial phrases that seem to describe the wrong noun. For example, “jumping for joy, the song delighted the young girl.” Although the girl is the one who is jumping for joy, the sentence makes it sound like the song is performing this action.

Instead, you could write, “jumping for joy, the young girl was delighted by the song” or “the song delighted the young girl, who was jumping for joy.”

A QuillBot grammar check can help you avoid dangling participles.
What is a conditional clause?: A conditional clause is one of the two clauses used in a conditional sentence. It is a type of dependent clause (also known as a subordinate clause) that describes a hypothetical situation.

Conditional clauses typically begin with the conjunction “if.” They are connected to an independent clause (also called a main clause) that describes the potential results of the hypothetical scenario (e.g., “If it snows, school will be canceled”).
What is the first conditional?: The first conditional is a type of conditional sentence that describes a realistic potential action in the present and its probable result (e.g., “If you try your best, you will succeed”).

All first conditional sentences are made up of two clauses:

A dependent clause that contains a verb in the simple present tense (e.g., “if you try”).

An independent clause that contains a modal verb (usually “will,” “might,” “may,” or “can”) and the infinitive form of the main verb (e.g., “succeed”).
What does it mean to split an infinitive?: A split infinitive is a full infinitive (e.g., “to eat”) that has words (usually adverbs) separating “to” and the verb (e.g., “to noisily eat”).

Split infinitives have traditionally been viewed as ungrammatical, but nowadays they are largely viewed as acceptable and are sometimes necessary.

For example, in “the dentist told Geoff to always brush his teeth before bed,” moving “always” either results in an awkwardly worded sentence or makes it unclear: does “always” refer to how often the dentist tells Geoff or to how often Geoff should brush his teeth?
Is a split infinitive bad grammar?: Although split infinitives were traditionally viewed as ungrammatical, they are now largely viewed as acceptable and are sometimes necessary.

You may want to avoid them where possible in academic or professional environments, as some may still view them negatively, but you don’t need to avoid them entirely. Split infinitives can provide emphasis, and moving the adverb can sometimes result in an ungrammatical or unclear sentence.

For example, in “Gemma asked Kamil to quietly shut the door,” moving “quietly” either results in an awkwardly worded sentence or makes it unclear: does “quietly” refer to the volume of Gemma’s voice or the way she wants Kamil to shut the door?
What is a bare infinitive?: A bare infinitive is the same as the base or dictionary form of the verb (e.g., “eat”), while a full infinitive is the base form of the verb preceded by “to” (e.g., “to eat”).

Bare infinitives often follow modal verbs (e.g., “we can fly”), the auxiliary verb “do” (e.g., “don’t touch”), and sense verbs (e.g., “I saw him run”).

There are a few verbs, such as “let” and “make,” that must be followed by bare infinitives instead of full infinitives (e.g., “let me try” not “let me to try”).

Infinitives have many uses, including functioning as subjects, direct objects, adjectives, and adverbs.
What is a full infinitive?: A full infinitive is the base form of the verb preceded by “to” (e.g., “to drink”). A bare infinitive, on the other hand, is simply the base form of the verb without “to” (e.g., “drink”).

Infinitives can be used as subjects, direct objects, adverbs, and adjectives. Full infinitives are more common than bare infinitives, and several verbs can only be followed by full infinitives (e.g., “I promise to visit” not “I promise visit”).
What’s the difference between infinitives and prepositional phrases?: Both infinitives and prepositional phrases can begin with to. However, an infinitive is “to” plus a verb, while “to” in a prepositional phrase is followed by a noun or pronoun.

For example, in “I want to take her to the cinema,” “to take” is an infinitive and “to the cinema” is a prepositional phrase.
What is the difference between a participle and a gerund?: Gerunds and present participles look the same but serve different grammatical purposes.

Gerunds are nouns (e.g., “She loves teaching”).

Present participles can be used as adjectives (e.g., “the crashing waves”) and as part of continuous verb tenses (e.g., “We are studying,” “He has been traveling”).
What is the present participle of “be”?: “Being” is the present participle of “be” (e.g., “They were being watched”). “Been” is the past participle.
What is the present participle of “lie”?: “Lying” is the present participle form of the verb “lie.”

Verbs with “-ie” endings typically drop the “ie” and take a “y” + “ing” ending in present participle form (e.g., “vie” becomes “vying,” and “die” becomes “dying”).
What is the simple present form of “be”?: “Be” is a stative verb and linking verb and is the most irregular verb in English. It has three simple present tense forms: “am,” “is,” and “are.”

“Am” is used for a first person subject (e.g., “I am Spanish”).

“Are” is used for plural subjects (e.g., “we are Spanish”) and for both singular and plural second person subjects (e.g., “you are Spanish”).

“Is” is used for a third person singular subject (e.g., “he/she/it is Spanish”).
What is the past perfect continuous?: The past perfect continuous is a past tense verb form used to describe actions that started in the past and continued until another point in the past. For example, “she had been running for an hour and was feeling exhausted.”

To form the past perfect continuous, place the auxiliary verbs “had” and “been” before the present participle (the “-ing” form) of the main verb (e.g., “They had been cooking”).

There are three other past tense forms: the simple past, past continuous (aka past progressive), and past perfect.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you with correct spellings and endings when you’re using different verb tenses.
What is the past perfect form of “go”?: The past perfect tense is used for verbs describing past actions that took place before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.

To form the past perfect tense, place the auxiliary verb “had” before the past participle of the main verb.

The past participle of “go” is “gone,” and the past perfect form of “go” is “had gone” (e.g., “he had gone”).
What is the most common linking verb?: The most common linking verb is “be” (e.g., “Abel is a painter,” “the McKays were at the party”). It’s one of three “true linking verbs” along with “become” and “seem.” These are always linking verbs when used as the main verb, and “be” is the most commonly used of the three.
Is “look” a linking verb?: “Look” is a linking verb when it is describing a quality of the subject (e.g., “you look happy” or “the food looks good”).

When it is describing the act of looking at something, “look” is an action verb (e.g., “he looked at the TV”).
What are some common linking verbs?: The most common linking verbs are “be,” “become,” and “seem.” These are also known as “true linking verbs.”

Other common linking verbs include “appear” when it means “seem” and sensory verbs such as “taste,” “feel,” and “smell” (e.g., “this coffee tastes bitter,” “I feel good”).

Apart from “be,” “become,” and “seem,” all linking verbs can also be action verbs depending on whether they’re describing the state of the subject or an action.
Is “was” a helping verb?: “Was,” like other forms of “be,” can either be a main verb or a helping verb (aka auxiliary verb). As a main verb, “be” is always a stative and linking verb (e.g., “I was a doctor”). As a helping verb, it helps to form the passive voice (e.g., “the house was sold”) and progressive tenses, such as the present progressive (e.g., “I was selling my house”).
Is it “could of” or “could have”?: Although “could of” is sometimes used in colloquial speech, the correct form is “could have” or the contraction “could’ve.”

“Could” is a modal auxiliary verb and “have” can either be an auxiliary verb or a main verb. Modals and auxiliaries are used with a main verb to change its tense, mood, or voice. When “could have” modifies a main verb, it means that something may have been possible in the past but didn’t happen (e.g., “we could have stopped for coffee if we’d left earlier”).
What is the difference between was and were?: “Was” and “were” are both simple past tense forms of the stative verb “be.” The correct form to use depends on the subject.

“Was” is used for most singular subjects, including first person and third person (e.g., “I was,” “she was”).

“Were” is used for plural subjects (e.g., “we were,” “they were”), but it’s also used for the second person regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural (e.g., “you were”).

Whether “was” or “were” is correct can also depend on whether you’re using the subjunctive mood or indicative mood. The subjunctive mood is used to express wishes, hypotheticals, and suggestions (e.g., “if I were you, I would say something”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you ensure you’re using was and were correctly.
What are some examples of the past continuous tense?: The past continuous tense (aka the past progressive) is a past tense verb form used to describe actions that were ongoing in the past. It often describes actions that were happening at the same time or that were happening when something else occurred.

Here are some examples of the past continuous tense:

I was surfing when my surfboard broke.

She was smiling as I was telling the story.

We were singing karaoke while our friends were dancing.

Jemal was always studying on Friday nights.
What are some irregular past tense verbs?: Irregular verbs don’t follow the regular rules for forming the simple past tense and the past participle form. While regular verbs need the addition of “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”), irregular verbs can change in a variety of ways or not change at all.

Here are some examples of irregular verbs in the simple past and past participle forms:

Base form Simple past Past participle

be (is, am, are) was/were been

do did done

eat ate eaten

go went gone

sing sang sung

When you’re conjugating irregular verbs into different verb tenses, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What’s the difference between regular and irregular verbs?: We change regular verbs to the simple past and past participle forms by adding “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”). For example, “talk” becomes “talked” and “dance” becomes “danced.”

Some regular verbs change their spelling in other ways, such as doubling the final letter or replacing “-y” with “-ied,” but they still follow predictable patterns. Regular verbs are always the same in their past and past participle forms.

Irregular verbs don’t follow the regular rule of adding “-ed” or “-d” to form the simple past and the past participle forms. They can change in a variety of ways or not change at all, and their simple past and past participle forms can be (but aren’t always) different.

For example, “go” becomes “went” in the simple past but is “gone” as a past participle, while “hit” is the same in all three forms.
What is the difference between stative and dynamic verbs?: Stative verbs (aka state verbs) describe a state, condition, or perception. The state can be physical, mental, or emotional (e.g., “be,” “believe,” “love”).

Dynamic verbs (aka action verbs) describe an action carried out by or on the subject (e.g., “eat,” “throw,” “run”). The action can be cognitive or sensory as well as physical (e.g., “he is thinking about buying a house,” “she looked at the schedule”).

Some verbs can be either dynamic or stative depending on whether they are describing an action or a state.
Is cost a verb?: “Cost” can be either a noun or a verb.

As a noun, “cost” can refer to the money needed to buy or do something (e.g., “the cost of housing is too high”) or the loss something requires or results in (e.g., “the war was won, but at the cost of many lives”).

As a verb, “cost” is usually a transitive and stative verb used to describe the price of something or the loss resulting from something (e.g., “her new suit cost $500,” “her credit card debt cost her her marriage”).

In professional environments, “cost” can be used as an action verb meaning to calculate how much something will be (e.g., “we need to cost the new project”). The simple past tense of “cost” in this context is “costed.”
What is the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs?: The difference between transitive and intransitive verbs is that transitive verbs demand a direct object, while intransitive verbs do not.

A direct object is the person or thing that a transitive verb acts upon (e.g., “I love pistachios”).

Intransitive verbs convey a clear idea without a direct object (e.g., “Richard swims”).
What are direct and indirect objects?: In grammar, an object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb.

Direct objects receive the action of the verb (e.g., “I threw the ball”), while indirect objects describe who or what receives the direct object (e.g., “I threw Jose the ball”).

If a verb requires a direct object, it is called a transitive verb.
What are some action verb examples?: Action verbs (aka dynamic verbs) describe an action performed by something as opposed to the state or condition of something.

Some verbs can be action verbs or another type of verb (e.g., a linking verb and/or a stative verb) depending on the context. For example, “look” is an action verb in “she looked at me” but is a stative and linking verb in “she looked happy.”

Here are some examples of common action verbs in the simple present tense:

Cough

Cry

Drink

Eat

Laugh

Play

Read

Run

Shout

Sigh

Sleep

Wash
Is have an action verb?: When used as the main verb, “have” can either be an action verb or a stative verb depending on the context.

Usually, “have” is a stative verb, as it describes the state of the subject—what it possesses, includes, or contains (e.g., “the car has a scratch on the door,” “I have a degree”).

However, there are some cases where “have” describes an action. For example, “I’m having dinner,” “I’ll have a ten-minute break,” or “he had fun at the party.”

“Have” can also be an auxiliary verb modifying the main verb (e.g., “I have finished”).
Is are an action verb?: “Are,” like other forms of the verb “be” (e.g., am, is, was, were), is almost always a stative verb when used as the main verb. This means it describes the subject’s state or condition rather than an action.

It can be used in the continuous tense along with “being” to mean “behaving.” This expresses a temporary action rather than a permanent state or quality.

For example, “they are annoying” means they are always annoying: that is their permanent state. “They are being annoying” means they are not always annoying, but they are behaving in an annoying way at the moment.

“Are” (and other forms of “be”) can also be an auxiliary verb modifying the main verb, which is usually an action verb (e.g., “they are running a marathon”).
What is a transitive action verb?: Action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. A transitive action verb needs a direct object to receive the action. Without an object, the sentence won’t be complete or make sense.

One example of a transitive action verb is caught. “He caught” is incomplete and doesn’t give us enough information. It needs to be followed by an object to tell us what he caught (e.g., “he caught a cold”).

An intransitive action verb doesn’t need a direct object. It can follow the subject on its own or be followed by an adverb or adverbial phrase to describe the action; for example, “she laughed,” “she laughed loudly,” or “she laughed at the clown.”

Some action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending on the context. For example, “run” in “I run a weekly book club” is transitive, but it is intransitive in “I run every morning.”
Is it I have learned or learnt?: Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same verb. They’re both common, but “learnt” is standard in British English and “learned” in American English.

I have learned is more common in American English.

I have learnt is more common in British English.

It´s important to choose one and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
Is it lesson learnt or learned?: Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same verb. They’re both common but learnt is standard in British English and learned in American English.

Lesson learned is more common in American English.

Lesson learnt is more common in British English.

A QuillBot grammar check can help you use one form consistently.
What is the difference between the simple past and past perfect?: The simple past and past perfect are both past tense forms for verbs.

The simple past tense is used to describe actions that took place in the past. For example, “Sven started a new job last year.”

The past perfect is used for past actions that occurred before another past action or up to a certain point in the past. For example, “Sven had worked in hospitality for five years before becoming an accountant.”

The other past tense forms are the past progressive and the past perfect progressive.
What is the difference between the simple past and present perfect?: The simple past is a verb tense used for actions and events that were completed in the past. For example, “I was a writer for The New York Times” expresses that the speaker wrote for The New York Times in the past but doesn’t write for them anymore.

The present perfect tense is for actions or events that began in the past and have some connection or relevance to the present (i.e., a recently completed action, an experience, a change that happened over time, or an action or state that may continue).

For example, “I have been a writer for the New York Times for two years” expresses that the speaker started writing for The New York Times two years ago and still writes for them now.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use verb tenses correctly in your writing.
Is “is” a verb?: Yes, “is” is a verb. It is a form of the verb “be” that is used with third-person singular subjects (e.g., “She is my best friend”).

“Is” can be used in two ways:

As a linking verb, which is used to describe the subject’s condition, state of being, or identity (e.g., “He is a nurse;” “It is bedtime”)

As an auxiliary verb (aka helping verb) to change the tense, mood, or voice of a main verb (e.g., “She is singing tonight”)

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using “is” correctly.
Is have a verb?: Yes, “have” is a verb. It has many meanings, most of which relate to possession or relationship (e.g., “I have a blue car;” “She has two sisters”).

“Have” is an irregular verb, which means its past tense is not formed with “-ed.” Instead, the simple past tense and past participle form is “had” (e.g., “I had a dog when I was a child”).

“Have” can also act as an auxiliary verb (aka helping verb) to form perfect verb tenses:

Tense Example

Present perfect I have eaten

Past perfect I had eaten

Future perfect I will have eaten

Present perfect progressive (present perfect continuous) I have been eating

Past perfect progressive I had been eating

Future perfect progressive I will have been eating

“Have” is also used as an auxiliary verb in certain conditional sentences (e.g., “If I had known you were coming, I would have bought groceries”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using “have” correctly.
Is love a verb?: Yes, “love” can be used as a verb (e.g., “I love you”). “Love” is almost always used as a transitive verb, which means it requires a direct object (i.e., someone or something that is loved).

“Love” can also be used as a noun (e.g., “Love is all you need;” “He is full of love“).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using words correctly.
Is had a verb?: Yes, “had” is a verb. It is the simple past tense and past participle form of “have” (e.g., “We had a great day”).

“Had” can also act as an auxiliary verb (aka helping verb) to form perfect verb tenses:

Past perfect (e.g., “I had walked”)

Past perfect progressive (e.g., “I had been walking”)

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you make sure you’re using verbs correctly.
What is the past participle of beat?: The past participle of the verb beat is beaten. The past participle is used to form the passive voice (e.g., “The record was beaten twice in the same championship”) and perfect tenses (e.g., “Michael has beaten everyone who has challenged him”).

It is a common mistake, and always wrong, to use “beat” in these contexts. “Beat” is the simple past form.

“Beat” can sometimes be used as the past participle where the meaning is “exhausted” (e.g., “After a month of exams, Alex was beat”).

You can easily check your own writing for mistakes using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What is the simple past form of beat?: The simple past form of the verb beat is also beat. It is used for an event or action that occurred in the past (e.g., “Steve beat the gong enthusiastically”).

You can easily check your own writing for mistakes using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is it beat or beaten?: The past participle of the verb beat is beaten, and the simple past is beat. The correct form of the verb will depend on the meaning you want.

In the simple past, beat is the correct form (e.g., “Ainaz beat everybody else in the competition to claim her third gold medal”).

Use the past participle beaten to form perfect tenses and the passive voice (e.g., “She had beaten all the odds to become the leading lawyer at the firm”).

It’s easy to check your grammar and spelling using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What is the past participle of ring?: The past participle of the irregular verb ring, meaning “cause a bell or phone to make a sound,” is rung. The past participle is used to form perfect tenses and the passive voice (e.g., “The church bells had rung for hours in celebration;” “The doorbell had been rung”).

Sometimes you will see “rang” used as a past participle, but this is incorrect. It is the simple past tense of “ring.”

When ring means “encircle something” then the simple past and past participle are ringed (e.g., “The baseball ground was ringed with bleachers”).

You can check that your writing is accurate by using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is it rang or rung?: Rang is the simple past of the irregular verb ring meaning “cause a bell to make a noise” (e.g., “For the first time in her life, Ellie rang the end-of-lesson bell”).

Rung is the past participle of the verb ring when it has that same meaning. It is used to form the perfect tenses and passive voice (e.g., “The alarm bell had rung before, so nobody took any notice”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker is a quick and easy way of checking your grammar when you write.
What is a synonym for rang?: Depending on the context, there are several synonyms or near-synonyms for rang. For making a bell ring these include:

Sounded

Chimed

Tolled

Pealed

For making a call on the phone, they include:

Called

Dialed

Phoned

Telephoned

To bring variety to your writing you can use the QuillBot Paraphrasing Tool.
Is it ringed or rang?: Both ringed and rang are correct, but ringed is more unusual. The correct simple past tense of the irregular verb ring meaning “cause a bell to make a sound” or “call someone on the phone” is rang.

The verb ring, meaning “encircle” or “surround” has the simple past and past participle form ringed.

You can check your grammar easily with a QuillBot grammar check.
What is the past participle of lead?: The past participle of the verb lead, meaning “go in front” or “be in charge of” is led. Lead is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tense. The past participle is used to form the perfect tense forms of the verb and the passive voice.

The hot weather has led to a huge increase in ice cream sales.

Often, we are led by our instincts when we first become parents, as there is so much to learn.

You can check your grammar and spelling quickly and easily with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is led the past tense of lead?: Led is the correct past tense of the irregular verb lead for both the simple past and past participle.

It was typical that Samantha led from the front.

Ahmed had led the team for 15 years and knew that it was time to stand aside.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure your spelling and grammar are accurate.
How do I pronounce lead?: Lead has two possible pronunciations. The irregular verb, meaning “be in charge” or “be at the front,” is pronounced [leed]. The same pronunciation applies to the related noun lead, which is often used to refer to potential contacts for sales or investigations or, in British English, as the most common word for “leash.”

Lead is also a noun describing the chemical with the symbol Pb, the metal known for being heavy and pliable. In this case it is pronounced [led]. You will need to use the context to know which word is meant when you see it written.

You can check your grammar with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is it led to or lead to?: If you are writing in the present tense, then it is lead to (e.g, “You can lead a horse to water”). In the past tense, use led to (e.g., “The long avenue of trees led to an impressive mansion”).

The verb lead does not follow regular conjugation rules, as it is an irregular verb.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to check your grammar and spelling.
Is glew a word?: Glew is indeed a word, but it is not the past tense of glow. It is an archaic spelling of the word “glue.”

Sometimes people mistakenly think that glow follows the pattern of “throw,” “know,” or “grow” and forms its past tenses by changing the “-ow” to “-ew.” But these are irregular verbs and grow follows the regular verb pattern of adding “-ed.”

The flame glew in the distance and slowly faded.

The flame glowed in the distance and slowly faded.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure your spelling and grammar are error-free.
What does glow up mean?: Glow up is a phrasal verb, adjective, or a noun used informally, especially on social media, to indicate a person who has transformed themselves in a positive way (e.g., “Gina was famous for her glow up video that brought her to the attention of many new followers”).

While it’s commonly used in informal writing, glow up would not be acceptable in academic writing.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure your spelling and grammar are error-free.
Is grinded a word?: Grinded is sometimes used as the past tense of grind. It should not be used in formal writing or academic English.

For some residents, the noise from the skatepark was too much as the users grinded their decks for hours on end.

With finals just around the corner, the seniors grinded away reviewing the material.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker is a great way of checking the accuracy of your writing.
Is it grinded or ground?: Depending on the context, you can use grinded or ground as the past tense of grind.

Grinded is more common in American English and is widely considered acceptable in informal contexts. It should be avoided in academic writing, and the conventional form ground should be used instead.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure your spelling and grammar are accurate.
Is it put or putted?: The past tense of put, meaning “to place,” is also put. Putted is the past tense of a different verb, “putt,” which is a type of golf stroke.

Aliya putted her phone away and joined in with the game.

Aliya put her phone away and joined in with the game.

Put is an irregular verb that is spelled the same in the infinitive, simple past, and past participle forms.

You can easily check your spelling and grammar using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What does putted mean?: Putted is the past tense of the verb “putt,” which is a golf term for a stroke that a golfer takes on the green (e.g., “Woods putted better than anyone else on the tour that whole season”). It is never the correct past tense of put.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker is an easy way of making sure your spelling and grammar are error-free.
Is costed a word?: In British English, costed is the past tense of the verb “cost” meaning “give an estimate of the price of work or a project” (e.g., “The project was fully costed”). It is incorrect to use it when the verb means “to be priced at.”

That must have costed a fortune!

That must have cost a fortune!

Have you costed the new-build project?

You can use the Quillbot Grammar Checker to make sure your spelling and grammar are correct.
Is it costed or cost?: The verb “cost” has two different past tense forms, depending on the meaning being used. The more common meaning, referring to the price that is paid for goods or services, is an irregular verb. The spelling remains the same as the infinitive—cost (e.g., “Andy was delighted that the watch repair had cost less than he feared”).

A less common meaning of “cost,” typically used only in British English, is “to give an estimate of price for work or a project.” When used in this way, it is a regular verb that adds “-ed” for the past tense and past participle (e.g., “Thankfully, the project had been carefully costed to cover exchange-rate fluctuations”).

The Quillbot Grammar Checker can help you make sure your spelling and grammar are correct.
What does cost an arm and a leg mean?: Cost an arm and a leg is an idiom that means something is extraordinarily expensive. The implication is that it costs more than money can buy. Other idioms with the verb cost that indicate an excessive price include:

Cost a bomb (British English)

Cost a pretty penny

Cost the earth

Cost a king’s ransom

Cost a packet (British English)
Is it took or taken?: The simple past tense of take is took, and the past participle is taken. The simple past is used to describe an action that has already happened (e.g., “The GPS took us on the shortest route”), while the past participle is used for perfect tenses (e.g., “He had quickly taken charge”) and the passive voice (e.g., “They left once all the photos had been taken”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using “took” and “taken” correctly.
Is taked a word?: “Taked” is not a word. If you are looking for the simple past form of the irregular verb “take,” then the correct word is took. The past participle is taken.

The plane taked off on time.

The plane took off on time.

The glue had taked ages to dry.

The glue had taked ages to dry.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using the past tense of take correctly.
Is went a verb?: Went is the simple past tense of “go,” meaning “travel” or “leave.” Go does not follow the regular pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tense or past participle.

You will sometimes hear or see went used as the past participle in informal contexts (e.g., “I had went to see her”), but this is never correct in formal English or academic writing.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using verbs like “went” correctly.
Is go a verb?: Go is a very common and versatile verb meaning “travel,” “move,” or “leave.” It is also a noun in the sense of “turn” or “attempt” (e.g., “It’s your go” or “Have a go yourself”).

The simple past tense of “go” is “went.”
Is drug the past tense of drag?: The past tense of drag is dragged. In some parts of the southern United States, “drug” is in common usage, but the correct spelling for academic writing is always dragged for the simple past tense and past participle.

“Drug” is a verb meaning “administer narcotics” and has the past tense “drugged.”

You can check if you are using the correct past tense of drag with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is it dragged or drugged?: Dragged is the past participle and simple past tense of drag, meaning “move something along the ground with difficulty” (e.g., “Before he left for the night, Ade dragged the canoe up the beach beyond the high water mark”).

Drugged is the past tense of the verb drug, meaning “administer narcotics.” It is also an adjective referring to someone or something that has been drugged (e.g., “The drugged animals were much more docile than usual”).

Sometimes you will find drug (and perhaps even drugged) as the past tense of drag, but this is never correct in formal writing.

You can check your grammar and spelling with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What is the past tense of lie down?: The simple past tense of lie is “lay.” So the past tense of the phrasal verb lie down is lay down (e.g., “Little Timmy came in and lay down on the sofa”).

“Lay” is also the infinitive form of another verb meaning “put down gently.” However, while “lie” (and its past tense form “lay”) is never accompanied by a direct object, “lay” (meaning “put down”) is transitive, so it is always accompanied by a direct object.

The simple past tense of the phrasal verb “lay down,” meaning “put down” or “enforce,” is “laid down” (e.g., “Asmita laid down the rules for the camp”) because “laid” is the past tense of lay.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using phrasal verbs like “lie down” correctly.
Is it lyed or lied?: The simple past tense of the verb lie, meaning “tell an untruth,” is lied.

The simple past tense of lie meaning “place yourself in a horizontal position” is “lay.”

“Lyed” can be used as an adjective that means “prepared with lye,” but it is uncommon.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you’re using verbs like “lied” correctly.
Is it lied down or laid down?: The phrase “lied down” is never correct, and “laid down” is only correct if there is a direct object of the verb (e.g., “He laid down the first course of bricks before night fell.”).

Laid is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb “lay” which means “place something or someone in a horizontal position” (e.g., “Suzi made sure she had laid the tiles carefully, as mistakes would be costly”).

This form should not be confused with the verb lay, which is the simple past tense of lie, meaning “be in a horizontal position” (e.g., “I lay down and fell asleep”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker is an easy way to make sure you’re using phrasal verbs like “laid down” correctly.
Is weared a word?: Weared is not a word in standard English except in sailing, when wear means “change tack by bringing the stern around.” The simple past of wear is wore, and the past participle is worn.

You might encounter “weared” in informal circumstances, but it is almost certain to be incorrect.

You can check your spelling and grammar with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is wored a word?: Wored is not a word in standard English. For the verb wear, the simple past is wore and the past participle is worn.

You might find “wored” in nonstandard dialects, or used for humor, but it is not correct in formal English.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker if you aren’t sure if your writing is free of errors.
What is the past tense of wear clothes?: The past tense of wear clothes is wore clothes in the simple past. The past participle of wear is worn, and it is used for perfect tenses (e.g., “Pete had worn the same suit to every wedding for 10 years”) and the passive voice (e.g., “The clothes hadn’t been worn all winter and smelled musty”).

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to check your writing for errors.
Is seeked a word?: Seeked is not a word in standard English. Because seek is an irregular verb, it doesn’t follow the pattern of adding “-ed” to the infinitive to form the past tense.

The simple past and past participle of seek are both sought.

Where they seeked, they found.

Where they sought, they found.

Vanya had seeked to finish on time but failed.

Vanya had sought to finish on time but failed.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you’re using the correct form of seek.
Is soughted a word?: Soughted is not a word in English. The verb seek has the past tense form and past participle sought. “Soughted” is a mistaken attempt to add “-ed” (i.e., the way regular verbs form the past tense) to a verb that is already in the past tense form.

Deanne soughted to please everyone.

Deanne sought to please everyone.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you check the past tense of seek and every other verb.
Is it seeked or sought?: Seeked is not a word in standard English. Regular verbs in English form the past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” to the infinitive. Seek is an irregular verb and instead uses the form sought for both the past tense and past participle.

I seeked to find a quick way out of the situation.

I sought to find a quick way out of the situation.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker is a great way to check if you have the correct form of any word.
Is thinked a word?: Thinked is not a word in standard English. The past tense of the verb think is thought. As an irregular verb, think doesn’t follow the usual pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tense or past participle.

I went away and thinked about it.

I went away and thought about it.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you’re using the past tense of think correctly.
Is thunk a word?: Thunk is not really a word, but you will find it used for comic effect (e.g., “Who’da thunk it?”). The past tense and past participle of think is thought.

Think is an irregular verb and doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tense (e.g., “There’s no way he thought that was OK!”) or past participle (e.g., “Hamish had thought carefully about the decision”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using the past tense of think correctly.
Is thought a verb?: Thought is the past tense (e.g., “Lenka thought it was easy”) and past participle (e.g., “Garth simply hadn’t thought of that”) of the verb think. It is also an abstract noun. So, when we think, we can be said to “have thoughts.”

Think is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tense.

Use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure your use of the past tense of think is correct.
Is drinked a word?: No, drinked isn’t a word. The simple past tense form of the verb drink is drank. The past participle of drink is drunk. It is used for the perfect tenses and passive voice.

Both Joey and his dad drinked all night.

Both Joey and his dad drank all night.

The guests had drinked all the free wine.

The guests had drunk all the free wine.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to check your spelling and grammar.
Is it drinked or drank?: The simple past tense of drink is drank. “Drinked” is not a word in standard English.

Drink is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the rule of adding “-ed” to the infinitive to make the simple past tense or past participle. The past participle of drink is drunk.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker helps you to check your grammar and spelling.
Is dranked a word?: No, dranked is not a word. The simple past tense form of drink is drank, but it doesn’t add “-ed” at the end. The past participle of the verb is drunk.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you make sure your writing is accurate.
Is it drew or drawed?: The simple past tense form of the verb draw is drew, not “drawed.” The past participle is drawn. This is because it is an irregular verb and doesn’t follow the normal pattern of regular verbs.

You can easily check whether you’re using the correct past tense of draw with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is meeted a word?: “Meeted” is not a word. The simple past tense form of “meet” is met (e.g., “when we met, it was like no time had passed”). Met is also the past participle (e.g., “We had met no traffic and just made it on time”).

There is a less common word “mete” that is pronounced the same and means “distribute.” This verb has the simple past tense and past participle “meted.”

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you’re using the past tense of meet correctly.
What is the past participle of meet?: The past participle of the verb meet is met. Meet is an irregular verb that means “come together with someone” (e.g., “Let’s meet at the statue at 10”) or “achieve” (e.g., “Sylvie likes to meet her targets every month”).

The past participle is used to form the perfect tenses (e.g., “The friends had met at the café before heading to the beach together”) and the passive voice (e.g., “No resistance to the new laws was met by the authorities”).

Met is also the simple past tense form of meet and is used to describe events that have happened in the past (e.g., “The whole family met to discuss their holiday plans for next year”).

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to find the past tense of meet or any other verb.
Is choosed a word?: No, “choosed” is not a word in standard English. Choose, meaning “pick from a selection,” is an irregular verb and doesn’t form the past tense by adding “-ed.”

The simple past tense form of choose is chose.

We all looked at the options and choosed our favorite ice cream.

We all looked at the options and chose our favorite ice cream.

The past participle of choose is chosen. It is used for the perfect tenses and passive voice.

Sally and Mel were excited that they had both been choosed for the team.

Sally and Mel were excited that they had both been chosen for the team.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you are using the past tense of choose correctly.
Is chosed a word?: No, “chosed” is not a word in standard English. Choose, meaning “pick between options,” is an irregular verb. It doesn’t follow the regular pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tenses.

The simple past tense form is chose (e.g., “Lily chose to have a gap year before going to university”), and the past participle is chosen (e.g., “We are glad you have chosen to fly with us today”).

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you are using the past tense of choose correctly.
Is sweated a word?: Sweated is the past tense and past participle of the regular verb sweat. Some dictionaries allow sweat instead of sweated, making it an irregular verb.

Sweated can be used to mean “perspired” (e.g., “They sweated in the humid air”), or to mean “exerted a lot of effort” (e.g., “Jen and Sally sweated their revision for the finals”).

Sweated is also an adjective describing something that has been sweated (e.g., “The garlic and sweated onions should be mixed together”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using the past tense of sweat correctly.
Is it sweated or sweat?: In most cases you can use sweated or sweat as the past tense and past participle of the verb sweat.

Most dictionaries allow either to be used, but some restrict sweat in the past tense to the physical phenomenon of perspiration (i.e., you can’t use sweat in the past tense to mean “work vigorously”).

Sweated is also an adjective that describes something that has been sweated (e.g., “Sweated onions are one of my favorite ingredients”).

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you’re using the past tense of sweat correctly.
Is bited a word?: No, “bited” is not a word in standard English. The simple past tense form of the verb bite is bit, and the past participle is bitten.

The cat bited and scratched me.

The cat bit and scratched me.

The traffic congestion had bited into our time at the beach.

The traffic congestion had bitten into our time at the beach.

It is easy to check if you’re using the past tense of bite correctly with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
What is the past participle of bite?: The past participle of the verb bite is bitten in both American and British English (e.g., “You could see the teeth marks where her baby brother had bitten her”).

In American English, you can also use the past participle bit (e.g., “Cal had bit down hard on a peach pit and broken his tooth”).

Bit is also used as the simple past tense of “bite.”

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to make sure you have the correct past tense of bite or any other verb.
What does bit mean?: The word bit has a number of meanings. It is the simple past tense of bite, meaning “cut into with the teeth” or “have a (negative) impact on” (e.g., “The spending cuts were starting to bite”).

In American English, it can also be an alternative to bitten as the past participle of bite.

Bit is also a noun referring to a “small part of something” (e.g., “That’s our bit of land over there”) or “metal bar in a horse’s mouth attached to the reins” (e.g., “The horse was impatiently stomping its feet and chewing its bit”).

The phrase a bit can be used as an adverb meaning “somewhat” (e.g., “That’s a bit naughty”).

You can easily find synonyms for words like bit using the QuillBot Paraphrasing Tool.
Is teached a word?: No, “teached” isn’t a word in standard English. The past tense of the verb teach is taught. Teach is an irregular verb, and taught is both the simple past tense form and past participle.

You might occasionally encounter “teached” used humorously or as part of a dialect. But it is incorrect in formal writing.

You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to find the correct past tense of teach.
Is taughted a word?: No, “taughted” is not a word in standard English. The simple past tense form and past participle of “teach” is “taught.”

“Teach” is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to the infinitive to form the past tenses.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you find the correct past tense of teach.
Is it teached or taught?: The past tense of the verb teach is taught. Teach is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t use the “-ed” ending for the past tenses.

Taught is both the simple past tense form and past participle. The past participle is used to form the perfect tenses (e.g., “I have taught English across the whole age range”) and the passive voice (e.g., “I think we have all been taught a lesson today”).

Use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you are using the correct past tense of teach.
Is readed a word?: No, “readed” is not a word. The irregular verb read has the simple past tense form and past participle read. Although it is spelled the same, it is pronounced differently.

The infinitive and present tense are pronounced [reed], and the past tense and past participle are pronounced [red].

You can ensure you’re using the correct past tense of read with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
Is it read or red?: The simple past tense of read is also spelled read, but instead of being pronounced [reed] it changes to [red]. This is also true for the past participle, used to form the perfect tenses and for the passive voice.

Read is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t add “-ed” to form the past tenses.

You can easily check whether you’re using the correct past tense of read with the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
How do you pronounce the past tense of read?: The past tense of read is pronounced [red]. Although it is spelled the same (read) for both the simple past tense and past participle.

It might help to remember that the pronunciation changes in the same way as the verb “lead,” meaning “go in front,” which changes from “lead” [leed] to “led” [led].
What is the plural form of scarf?: The spelling of the plural form of the noun “scarf” is scarves or scarfs.

The standard spelling for the item of clothing you wear around your neck is scarves, but “scarfs” is also an acceptable alternative.

Scarfs is the standard spelling for technical uses of the word (e.g., to mean a part of a wooden joint).

You can use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you pick up errors in the spelling of nouns with confusing plural forms such as “scarf.”
When do I use the present perfect continuous?: Use the perfect present continuous when discussing an action that started in the past and continues in the present moment or an action that has recently ended but has an effect on the present moment.

For example:

The children have been building a sandcastle all morning. She has been exercising at the gym for an hour.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use the present perfect tense correctly.
What are some present perfect continuous tense examples?: Some examples of the present perfect continuous tense are:

I have been jogging every morning for the past month.

She has been practicing the piano since she was a child.

Shelly has been making money in the stock market recently.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you ensure you’re using the present perfect tense correctly.
What is the past tense of hang up?: The simple past tense of the phrasal verb hang up is “hung up” (e.g., “He called yesterday, but I just hung up”).

On a related note, if you’re not sure whether you should use hung or hanged as the past participle or simple past form of the verb “hang;” “hung” is always correct, except when you’re referring to “death by hanging.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar checker will help you to select the correct form of tricky verbs like “hang up.”
Is it sewed or sown?: The correct past participle of the verb “sew” is “sewn,” or less commonly sewed (e.g., “Have you already sewn/sewed the seams?” or “Was it hand-sewn/sewed?”).

Sown or, less commonly, “sowed” is the past participle of the verb “sow,” which means “to plant” (e.g., “What seeds have you sown/sowed in that field?”).

Sewed is also the past tense of sew (i.e., its simple past tense form).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you pick up errors with tricky verb forms like “sewed” and “sown” in your writing.
What is a synonym for sew?: Synonyms for the verb sew include:

Stitch

Embroider

Tack

Hem

Darn

The past tense of sew can be tricky because it’s an irregular verb. QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you use irregular verbs like “sew” correctly in your writing.
Is it sewed or sewn?: Sewn is the most commonly used past participle of the verb “sew,” but sewed is also correct (e.g., “It’s all been hand-sewn/sewed” or “Have you sewn/sewed on the sequins yet?”).

Sewed is also the past tense of sew (i.e., it is the simple past tense form of “sew”).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? You can use it to help avoid mistakes with tricky verb forms like “sewed” and “sewn.”
What does spread out mean?: The phrasal verb spread out means “move apart, distribute, expand, or grow so as to cover a larger area or period of time.”

Spread out in a sentence examples
He took the toys out of the box and spread them out on the floor.

The roots of these plants will spread out very quickly.

Instead of having workshops every day, we could spread them out over five weeks.

When using “spread out” in different tenses, remember that the past tense of spread is also “spread,” not “spreaded” (so the simple past tense and past participle forms of “spread out” are both “spread out”).

Why not use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to check that you’re using “spread out” correctly in your text?
Is spreaded a word?: No, spreaded is not a word. You will not find “spreaded” listed in dictionaries.

The past tense of spread is also “spread,” not “spreaded” (i.e., the infinitive, simple past tense and past participle forms of “spread” are all “spread”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to pick up verb conjugation errors like “spreaded” in your writing.
What’s the meaning of spread thin?: You say that you’ve spread yourself too thin when you’re trying to do too many things at the same time and therefore can’t do any of them as well as you would like.

When using the phrase “spread yourself too thin” in different tenses, bear in mind that the past tense of spread is also “spread,” not “spreaded” (i.e., the simple past tense and past participle forms of “spread” are both “spread”).

Spread thin in a sentence examples
I used to say “yes” to everything and spread myself too thin.

Won’t you be spreading yourself a bit too thin if you join the debating society too?

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Paraphraser? You can use it to find alternative ways of expressing “spread yourself too thin” in your specific context.
What is a progressive verb?: A progressive verb is used to show ongoing or continuous action. It is created by combining a form of the linking verb “be” with the present participle (i.e., the “-ing” form of the verb).

The progressive form is used in the following verb tenses:

Present progressive (“I am walking“)

Past progressive (“I was walking“)

Future progressive (“I will be walking“)

Present perfect progressive (“I have been walking“)

Past perfect progressive (“I had been walking“)

Future perfect progressive (“I will have been walking“)

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use verb tenses correctly.
Is and a verb?: And is a coordinating conjunction, not a verb. It is used to link equal parts of speech to each other (e.g., two nouns, two adjectives). So, it can be used to link two verbs (e.g., “We ate and drank”), but it is not a verb.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use different parts of speech correctly.
Is has a verb?: Yes, has is a verb. It is the third-person singular form of the verb “have.” It can be used as the main verb in a sentence (e.g., “He has three tickets”).

Has is also used as an auxiliary verb in perfect verb tenses (e.g., “She has walked three miles so far”).

A free QuillBot grammar check can help you use verbs correctly in your writing.
Is it lended or lent?: The correct past tense of lend is lent, not lended.

“Lent” is the simple past tense form of the verb “lend” (e.g, “I didn’t have a pen but the teacher lent me one”). “Lent” is also the past participle form of “lend” (e.g., “The teacher has lent me a pen”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid verb form errors like “lended” in your writing.
Is it loaned or lent?: Loaned is the past tense of “loan” and lent is the past tense of lend (i.e., The simple past tense and past participle forms of these verbs).

You can use both “loan” and “lend” as verbs to mean “give something to someone for a limited time” (e.g., “Grabriel loaned/lent me his copy of the book”).

“Loan” is often the preferred choice of verb in the context of money and finances (e.g., “The bank loaned her the money).

Some usage manuals recommend using “loan” only as a noun (e.g., “She took out a bank loan”) and using “lend” instead of “loan” as a verb (e.g., “She lent her daughter the money”).

It is more common to use “loan” as a verb in American English than it is in British English.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use “loaned” and “lent” correctly in your writing.
Is lended a word?: No, lended is not a word. The past tense of lend is “lent,” not “lended.”

“Lent” is the simple past tense and past participle form of the verb “lend” (e.g., “I forgot to bring a towel but Kim lent me one,” “Kim has lent me one”).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? It will help you to avoid using incorrect verb forms like “lended” in your writing.
Is it skied or skiied?: The past tense of ski is skied, not skiied.

“Skied” (with one “i”) is the simple past tense and past participle form of the verb “ski” (e.g., “She skied at Vail last year,” “She has never skied at Park City”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension will pick up verb form errors such as “skiied” instead of “skied” in your texts.
Is it skiid or skied?: The past tense of ski is skied, not skiid.

“Skied” (with one “i” and “-ed”) is the simple past tense and past participle form of the regular verb “ski” (e.g., “He skied in Colorado last year,” “He has never skied in the Wasatch Mountains”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension will pick up typos like “skiid” instead of “skied” in your texts.
What does skied mean?: Skied is the past tense of ski (e.g., “We skied in Colorado last year”).

“Skied” is also the past tense of “sky,” which means “launch high into the air” in the context of sports (e.g., She skied the ball to right field”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension will help you to use tricky past tense forms like “skied” correctly in your writing.
Is it have run or have ran?: It is have run and “has run,” not have ran or “has ran” (e.g., “I have run,” “She has run”) because “run” is the past participle of the irregular verb “run.”

“Ran” is the past tense of run (i.e., the simple past tense form for sentences like “Last year, I ran in the London Marathon”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension for Chrome will check your texts for verb conjugation errors like “have ran” instead of “have run.”
Is it ran or run?: It can be ran or run because they are both forms of the irregular verb “run.”

“Ran” is the past tense of run (i.e., the simple past tense form for sentences like “Yesterday, I ran for the bus”).

“Run” is the past participle form of “run” (for sentences like “I have run here all the way from school” and “The restaurant was run by my grandparents”).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension for Chrome will help you choose the right verb forms for irregular verbs like “run.”
Is it was run or was ran?: It is was run and “were run,” not was ran or “were ran” (e.g., “The store was run by two brothers,” “Both stores were run by the same family”) because you need the past participle form “run” (not “ran”) in the passive voice.

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker extension for Chrome will check your texts for incorrect passive voice forms like “was ran” instead of “was run.”
Is runned a word?: No, runned is not a word. “Run” is an irregular verb.

The past participle form is the same as the infinitive (e.g., “Have you run all the way here?”)

The simple past tense form is different to the infinitive, but the only change is a single altered vowel sound (e.g., “I ran all the way there but she had already left”)

This is the same conjugation pattern as the verbs “come” and “become.”
Is it have you eaten or ate?: It is have you eaten, not have you ate (e.g., “Are you hungry, or have you already eaten?”) because “eaten” is the past participle of the irregular verb “eat.”

“Ate” is the past tense of eat (i.e., the simple past tense form for sentences like “We ate at home before we set off”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will check your texts for verb conjugation errors like “have you ate” instead of “have you eaten.”
What is the past participle of eat?: The past participle of eat is “eaten.” Because “eat” is an irregular verb, its past participle is not formed by adding “-ed.”

The simple past tense of eat is “ate” (e.g., “She didn’t have time for breakfast and ate a banana when she got to work”)

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use past participles correctly.
What does ate mean?: The word ate is the simple past tense of eat (e.g., “He got up and ate a quick breakfast”).

The verb “eat” is an irregular verb, and you don’t form its simple past tense or past participle forms by adding “-ed” to the infinitive form.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use irregular verbs like “eat” correctly in your writing.
Is it dived or dove?: You can use dived or dove as the simple past tense of dive in American English (e.g., “We dove/dived on our vacation last year”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use the correct past tense verb forms in your writing.
What is the past tense of scuba dive?: The past tense of scuba dive is “scuba dove” or “scuba dived” because the past tense of dive is “dove” or “dived.”

However, the verb “scuba dive” is not typically used in the simple past tense. You normally use the phrase “go scuba diving” (e.g., “We went scuba diving there on vacation last year”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker helps you to pick up mistakes with tricky verbs like “dive.”
What is the past participle of dive?: The past participle of dive is “dived” (e.g., “Have you ever dived in Florida?”).

The past tense of dive is “dove” or “dived” in American English and “dived” in British English.

Use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you correct mistakes with tricky verbs like “dive.”
What does caught mean?: Caught is the simple past tense of catch (e.g., “I caught the bus yesterday”) as well as the past participle of “catch.” (e.g., “Have you caught a cold?”).

Caught can mean “discovered doing something forbidden” (e.g., “We caught him spraying graffiti on the wall”) and “got on” a bus, train, or plane (e.g., “I was running late and only just caught my train”).

If you are “caught by surprise,” you feel surprised because something has happened that you did not expect (e.g., “Their engagement caught me completely by surprise; they’ve only known each other for a few months”).

Why not use Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker to ensure that you’re using phrases with the word “caught” correctly?
Is it catched or caught?: It is caught, not catched.

The simple past tense of catch is “caught,” not “catched” (e.g., “She didn’t drive; she caught the bus”).

The past participle of “catch” is also “caught,” not “catched” (e.g., “She says she’s caught a cold”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid errors with irregular verbs like “catch” in your writing.
Is catched a word?: No, catched is not a word that you will find in most dictionaries.

The simple past tense of catch is “caught,” not “catched” (e.g., “He didn’t take his car; he caught the bus”).

The past participle of “catch” is also “caught,” not “catched” (e.g., “He says that he’s caught a cold”).

However, “catched” is used as a past tense and past participle form in some spoken dialects of English.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid errors with irregular verbs like “catch” in your writing.
What is the past participle of hear?: The past participle of hear is “heard” (e.g., “Have you heard about her new film?,” “I hadn’t heard about that,” “The case was heard last week”).

The simple past tense of hear is also “heard” (e.g., “The court heard the case last week”)

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid mistakes with irregular verbs like “hear” in your writing.
Is it heard or herd?: The simple past tense of hear is heard, not herd (e.g., “Yes, I heard the news last week”).

The past participle of “hear” is also “heard” (e.g, “Yes, I’ve heard the news).

You can use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to help you pick up errors with irregular verbs like “hear” in your writing.
What does left in the dark mean?: If you are left in the dark about something, it means that you are not being informed about it (e.g., “Management left us in the dark about these restructuring plans until the last minute; we had no input in the decision-making process”).

“Left” is the simple past tense of leave (e.g., “Management left us in the dark”) and the past participle of “leave” (e.g., “We were being left in the dark by management”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use irregular verbs like “leave” correctly in your writing.
What is the past participle of hurt?: The past participle of hurt is “hurt” (e.g., “She can’t come because she’s hurt her foot”).

The simple past tense of hurt is also “hurt.”

The verbs beat and cost also have the same infinitive, past tense, and past participle forms.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use irregular verbs like “hurt” correctly in your writing.
What does hurt my feelings mean?: If someone says “you have hurt my feelings,” it means that something you have said or done has made them feel unhappy (e.g., “It really hurt my feelings when you didn’t speak to me at the party”).

“Hurt” is the simple past tense of hurt and the past participle of “hurt.”

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? It can help you to avoid making errors with irregular verbs like “hurt.”
Is it hurted or hurt?: The correct past tense of hurt is not hurted, it is hurt (e.g., “He fell and hurt his arm”).

The correct past participle of the verb “hurt” is also “hurt” (e.g., “He can’t come swimming because he’s hurt his arm”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you to avoid making mistakes with irregular verbs like “hurted” instead of “hurt.”
What is the purpose of a cover letter conclusion?: The purpose of a cover letter conclusion is to restate your claim about why you’re a great fit, reiterate your enthusiasm, and motivate the reader to contact you for an interview.

Your cover letter conclusion should leave a positive impression so that the recruiter or hiring manager is excited to review your resume.

To maximize the purpose of a cover letter, always proofread before you send it to employers. QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker instantly finds and fixes errors.
What is the past participle of tear?: The past participle of tear is “torn” (e.g., “The doctor said I’ve torn a ligament in my knee”).

The past tense of tear is “tore” (e.g., “I tore the ligament playing soccer last weekend”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use tricky irregular verbs like “tear” correctly in your writing.
What does tear up mean?: The phrasal verb tear up , when pronounced so “tear” rhymes with “care,” has the following meanings:

“Pull or rip into smaller pieces” (e.g., “Please tear the boxes up and put them in the recycling”)

“Remove or destroy completely,” especially infrastructure or land (e.g., “They use bulldozers to tear up the forest”)

“Perform something extremely well” (e.g., “You guys really tore it up on stage today!)—this is an informal usage

The past tense of tear in this phrasal verb is “tore,” the past participle is “torn.

The phrasal verb tear up , when pronounced so “tear” rhymes with “here,” means “begin to form tears in your eyes” (e.g., “He noticed that she was tearing up and offered her a tissue”). The past participle and past tense form of this phrasal verb is “teared up.”
Is it feed or fed?: It can be feed or fed.

Feed ( ) is the infinitive of the verb (e.g., “Do you want me to feed the chickens?”).

Feed is also a simple present tense form of the verb (e.g. “I/you/we/they feed the chickens every day”).

Fed ( ) is the simple past tense of feed and the past participle of “feed” (e.g., “I fed the chickens yesterday,” “Have you fed the chickens yet?”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid mistakes with tricky irregular verbs like “feed.”
Is it fead or fed?: The correct spelling of the simple past tense of feed is fed ( ), not fead (e.g., “I can’t remember if I fed the dog this morning”).

“Fed” is also the past participle of the verb “feed” (e.g., “I’m sure you’ve already fed the dog twice today”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will pick up typos like “fead” instead of “fed.”
What is the past participle of feed?: The past participle of feed is “fed” ( e.g., “Have you fed the fish yet?,” “The fish were fed yesterday”).

“Fed” is also the simple past tense of feed (e.g., “Who fed the fish yesterday?”).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? It will help you to avoid errors with irregular verbs like “feed.”
What does fed up mean?: The adjective fed up means very dissatisfied or annoyed, particularly with a situation that has lasted for a long time (e.g., “I’m fed up because this is the third time that the heat has stopped working this winter, and the landlord won’t do anything about it.”)

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser will help you to find alternatives to the adjective “fed up” in your writing.
Is it plead or pleaded?: The correct past tense of plead and past participle of “plead” in standard American English is “pleaded” or “pled” (e.g., He pleaded/pled guilty to the charges in court on Monday,” “He has pleaded/pled guilty”).

However, plead ( ) is a rarely used alternative spelling of “pled.” It is best to avoid this spelling in formal contexts.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid mistakes with irregular verbs like “plead.”
Is it sended or sent?: The simple past tense of send is “sent,” not “sended” (e.g., “We sent your certificate last week”). The past participle of the verb “send” is also “sent” (e.g., “We have already sent your certificate”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid mistakes with irregular verbs like “send” in your writing.
What does heaven-sent mean?: The adjective heaven-sent describes something that is very fortunate and occurs at exactly the right moment (e.g., “The role was perfect for me and felt like a heaven-sent opportunity to break into the movie business”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to hyphenate words like “heaven-sent” correctly in your writing.
Is it faught or fought?: The past tense of fight is spelled fought, not faught (e.g., “About 2,000 soldiers fought in the battle”).

The past participle of the verb “fight” is also “fought.” (e.g., “The battle was fought in late spring”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid mistakes with tricky irregular verbs like “fight.”
What’s a synonym for fought?: Synonyms for fought include:

Battled (against)

Struggled (against)

Clashed (with)

Served (in)

Advocated (for)

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you to find synonyms for the word “fought” that match your specific context.
Is it stolen or stollen?: The correct spelling of the past participle of the verb “steal” is stolen ( ), not stollen (e.g., “Someone has stolen the money,” “The money has been stolen”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to avoid typos when using tricky irregular verbs like steal.
Is it steal or steel?: It can be steal or steel.

“Steal” is a verb meaning “take and keep something that does not belong to you without permission” (e.g., “It is easy for someone to steal your money if you keep it in your back pocket”).

“Steel” is a type of metal (e.g., “Professional racing bicycles are typically made of carbon fiber because it is lighter than steel”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use homophones like “steal” and “steel” correctly in your writing.
What is the difference between explanatory and exploratory research?: Exploratory research is conducted to gain initial insight into a new or relatively unexplored topic or phenomenon. The information gained from exploratory research may lead to new hypotheses and direct later work.

On the other hand, explanatory research is used to investigate cause-and-effect relationships, testing hypotheses about the relationships between variables.
What is the difference between exploratory and descriptive research?: Exploratory research is conducted to better understand a new or relatively underexplored phenomenon.

Descriptive research is conducted to better define a subject of interest by capturing its key characteristics.
What is the past participle of rise?: The past participle of rise is “risen” (e.g., “It is ready for the oven when the dough has risen to double its original size”).

The past tense of rise is “rose” (e.g., “The dough rose too quickly in the warm room and gave the bread a strange taste”).

QuillBot’s Grammar checker will help you to use tricky irregular verbs like “rise” correctly in your writing.
Is it rise or rose?: It can be rise or rose.

“Rose” is the past tense of the rise (e.g., “The dough rose slowly in the cool room and was ready for the oven after about four hours”)

“Rise” is the infinitive of the verb, so it’s used in past tense questions with “did” (e.g., “Did the dough rise to double its original size before you put it in the oven?”).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar checker? You can use it to pick up errors with tricky irregular verbs like “rise” in your writing.
Is it rised or rose?: It is rose, not rised.

The correct past tense of rise is “rose,” not “rised” (e.g., “She untied the ropes and the balloon slowly rose into the air”).

The word “raised” (with an “a”) is the simple past tense and past participle form of the verb “raise” (e.g., “He knew the answer to the question and raised his hand,” “We’ve raised the matter with him already”).

You can use QuillBot’s Grammar checker to check you’re using irregular verbs like “rise” correctly in your writing.
What does rised mean?: Rised is not a word.

The correct past tense of rise is “rose” (e.g., “They waited until the sun rose slowly from behind the hills”) and the correct past participle is “risen” (e.g., “They waited until the sun had risen from behind the hills”).

“Raised” (with an “a”) is the simple past tense and past participle form of a different verb, “raise” (e.g., “I raised the matter at the meeting yesterday,” “Have you raised the matter yet?”).

Have you tried QuillBot’s Grammar checker? You can use it to check if you’re using irregular verbs like “rise” correctly in your writing.
What is the progressive tense?: The progressive tense (also known as the continuous tense) is used to discuss actions that are ongoing or in progress. It’s formed with a form of the verb “be” and the present participle (“-ing” form).

There are many different progressive verb tenses:

Present progressive (“I am going”)

Past progressive (“I was going”)

Future progressive (“I will be going”)

Present perfect progressive (“I have been going”)

Past perfect progressive (“I had been going”)

Future perfect progressive (“I will have been going”)

Progressive tense can be tricky, but QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What are continuous tenses?: Continuous tenses (also known as progressive tenses) are used to discuss actions that are ongoing or in progress. They are formed with a form of the verb “be” and the present participle (“-ing” form).

There are several continuous tenses:

Present continuous (“She is sleeping”)

Past continuous (“She was sleeping”)

Future continuous (“She will be sleeping”)

Present perfect continuous (“She has been sleeping”)

Past perfect continuous (“She had been sleeping”)

Future perfect continuous (“She will have been sleeping”)
What is the perfect tense?: The perfect tense is used to discuss completed actions. This verb tense includes the verb “have” and the past participle (e.g., “eaten”).

There are several different perfect tenses:

Present perfect (“I have eaten”)

Past perfect (“I had eaten”)

Future perfect (“I will have eaten”)

When you’re writing with different verb tenses, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What is a ditransitive verb?: A ditransitive verb can take both an indirect object and a direct object. For example, in the sentence “Luis brought Sam a soda,” “brought” is ditransitive. “Sam” is the indirect object, and “soda” is the direct object.

Some common ditransitive verbs are:

Bring

Send

Buy

Ask

Loan

Give

Tell

Show

Hand

Note that most ditransitive verbs are also sometimes used as transitive verbs (i.e., with a direct object only).
Is favorite a verb?: Favorite can be used as a verb to mean “to mark something online (e.g., a photo, video, or website) to visit again.” For example: “Let me find that photo for you. I know I favorited it.”

This use is relatively new and is not common in academic or formal contexts. Favorite is more frequently an adjective (e.g., “my favorite shoes”) or noun (e.g., “These shoes are my favorite”).
Is it shooken or shaken?: It is shaken, not shooken.

The standard past participle of the verb “shake” is “shaken” (e.g., “The community has been shaken by the news that the factory will close next year,” or “People are very shaken by the news”).

The standard past tense of shake is “shook” (e.g., “I followed the instructions and shook the bottle first”).

Tools like QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to pick up errors like “shooken” instead of “shaken” in your writing.
What does shooken up mean?: Shooken up is a non-standard past participle form of the phrasal verb “shake up.” The standard form is shaken up.

If you feel “shaken up,” you feel “shocked” or “upset” (e.g., “It was only a minor accident, but I was still shaken up”). When “shaken up” is used like an adjective in passive constructions like this in informal contexts, “shook” is sometimes used as an alternative past participle form (e.g., “I was a bit shook up at first”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to pick up errors like “shooken up” instead of “shaken up” in your writing.
What does shaken not stirred mean?: Shaken not stirred or “shaken but not stirred” is a catchphrase of the fictional spy James Bond. This is what Ian Fleming’s character says to specify how he would like his martini cocktail prepared.

The phrase “shaken but not stirred” can also mean “superficially but not fundamentally affected by a negative experience” (e.g., “The company’s message at the press conference was that it has been shaken, but not stirred, by the outcome of the antitrust case”).

“Shaken” is the past participle of “shake.” The past tense of shake is “shook.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use tricky irregular verbs like “shake” correctly in your writing.
What does shooketh mean?: Shooketh is a humorous slang alternative to the word “shaken” (the past participle of the verb “shake”) associated with the comedian Christine Sydelko. It is used to express shock or surprise in a sarcastic or ironic way (e.g., “Wow, really? I didn’t know that; I am shooketh”).

The standard past participle of “shake” is “shaken.” The standard past tense of shake is “shook.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you check your writing for errors with tricky irregular verbs like “shake.”
Is a phrasal verb the same as a verb phrase?: No, a phrasal verb is not the same as a verb phrase. A phrasal verb is a type of English verb made up of a verb and one or more particles (e.g., “hang out”).

The combined words have a different meaning than the verb alone. For example, “hang out” means “to spend time together,” but “hang” means “to fasten” or “to dangle.”

A verb phrase includes the main verb of a sentence and any auxiliary verbs (e.g., “have” or “are”) or modal verbs (e.g., “might” or “would”). A phrasal verb can be part of a verb phrase (e.g., “We could have hung out last night if I didn’t have homework”).

Whether you’re writing with phrasal verbs or verb phrases, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What are the most common phrasal verbs in English?: The most common phrasal verbs in English include:

Bring up (to raise)

Call off (to cancel)

Find out (to learn about)

Give up (to stop trying)

Get by (to survive)

Put off (to postpone)

Show up (to arrive)

Take off (to leave or to remove)

Phrasal verbs are challenging because they are idioms, which means that they have figurative rather than literal meanings. Luckily, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use them correctly in any piece of writing.
What are some synonyms for give up?: The synonyms for give up depend on which meaning you’re using. “Give up” is a phrasal verb that has several possible meanings. Some of the most common synonyms are as follows:

Quit (e.g., “I don’t know the answer, so I’m giving up on trying to guess”)

Sacrifice (e.g., “Mary has to give up coffee”)

Stop (e.g., “Grandpa gave up smoking many years ago”)

Have you tried QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool for help with synonyms? It can instantly show you different ways to say the same thing.
What does give up the ghost mean?: Give up the ghost means “to stop functioning” or “to die”—usually in reference to a machine rather than a person. It’s an idiom because it has a figurative rather than a literal meaning. It also includes the phrasal verb “give up.”

Some examples of “give up the ghost” in sentences are:

The old washing machine finally gave up the ghost last night.

The minivan has completely given up the ghost, so we’re towing it to the junkyard.

“Give up the ghost” used to be an expression for the death of a person. In this context, ghost means “spirit,” and the expression originates from the idea of a spirit leaving the body after death.

When you’re trying to decide whether to use idioms like “give up the ghost,” try QuillBot’s free Paraphraser. It can show you different ways to say the same thing.
What does give up on mean?: Give up on is an idiom with at least three meanings in English:

To stop trying to improve someone or stop expecting them to succeed (e.g., “After Micah missed another deadline, Professor Katz finally gave up on him”)

To stop trying to achieve something (e.g., “I gave up on trying to make my own bread and just buy it from the store”)

To stop expecting someone (who is very late) to arrive (e.g., “After Grace was 30 minutes late to the restaurant, we gave up on her and ordered our meals”)

In this expression, “give up” is a phrasal verb, and “on” is a preposition that begins a prepositional phrase (e.g., “on her” or “on trying to make my own bread”).

Some grammarians consider “give up on” a transitive, inseparable phrasal verb, which means that it’s always followed by a direct object. Either interpretation means that “give up on” is followed by a noun.

When you’re writing with phrasal verbs, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with correct grammar and punctuation.
Is it setted up or set up?: It is set up, not setted up (e.g., “The DJ got to the venue early to set up her equipment”).

The phrasal verb “set up” comprises the verb “set” and the particle “up.”

The simple past tense of set and past participle of “set” are also “set.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will pick up errors with irregular verbs like “set” in your writing.
Should I use sit or set?: You should use sit to refer to the body position you have when you are on a chair:

I sit for eight hours a day in front of a computer at work.

Or to refer to moving to this position from a standing position:

Please take a chair and sit down.

The form of the verb “sit” can change to “sat” (“He’s sat down on the bench over there,” “He went to the park and sat on a bench”).

Use set with the following nouns:

Date (e.g., “The date for the next meeting has been set for 5 May”)

Alarm (e.g., “I have set my alarm to wake me up at 5 p.m. tomorrow morning”)

Example (e.g., “Set a good example for your kids by not using your phone at the dinner table”).

The verb “set” is irregular—the simple past tense of set and the past participle of “set” are also “set.”

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use “sit” and “set” correctly in your writing.
What does get out of dodge mean?: Get out of dodge is an idiom that means “to quickly leave an unpleasant place or tense situation” (e.g., “After several weeks of freezing temperatures, we decided to get out of dodge and go someplace warmer”).

The phrase originated from when Dodge City, Kansas was a boomtown in the “Wild West” that attracted outlaws. It includes the phrasal verb “get out,” which means “to leave.”

Have you tried the QuillBot Grammar Checker? It can help you use “get out” and other phrasal verbs with “get” correctly.
What does get over yourself mean?: Get over yourself means “stop being self-centered” or “stop taking yourself so seriously” (e.g., “When Jake said that he was the best cook in the family, we told him to get over himself”).

This informal expression includes “get over,” which is a phrasal verb with “get” that means “to stop being affected or controlled by something.”

When you’re writing with phrasal verbs, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What does get in the paint mean?: Get in the paint means “to put forth a very strong or bold effort” (e.g., “I’m exhausted because I really got in the paint last night trying to cram for my exams”).

“Get in the paint” is an informal expression with “get in,” a phrasal verb with “get” that means “to enter successfully.”

“The paint” refers to a rectangular painted area of a basketball court near the goal, where most of the points are scored and the playing becomes more competitive. It’s a metaphor for any situation that involves intense effort.

When you’re writing with phrasal verbs like “get in,” the QuillBot paraphrasing tool can show you a variety of alternatives.
What does get on board mean?: Get on board means “to support or become involved in a plan or idea” (e.g., “All of the managers have gotten on board with the employees’ request for remote work on Fridays”).

In this English idiom, “get” means “become,” and “on board” is a metaphor for being on a ship or aircraft that means “in agreement.”

Idioms and phrasal verbs with “get” can be tricky, but the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use them correctly in your writing.
What does if you will mean?: You use the phrase if you will to highlight or acknowledge that what you have just said is figurative, metaphorical, or an imprecise comparison (e.g., “It’s the Oscars of the paper industry, if you will”), or to make a polite request (e.g., “If you will/if you’ll follow me” means “Please follow me”).

The modal verb “will” has a wide range of functions and is used to form the future tense.

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can suggest alternatives to the phrase “if you will” to fit your specific context.
Is will a preposition?: No, will is not a preposition. Its part of speech is a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “She has a strong will”).

The verb “will” is used to form the future tense.

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can suggest alternatives to the word “will” to fit your specific context.
Is will a conjunction?: No, will is not a conjunction. It can either be a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “He has a very strong will”).

The future tense is formed using the verb “will.”

Use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help find synonyms and alternatives for the noun or verb “will” to fit your specific context.
Is will a helping verb?: The verb will is used to form the future tenses, and it is often classified as a helping verb in this context (e.g., “I will meet you outside the theater at 7 p.m.”).

Some linguists classify “will” as a modal verb or modal auxiliary when it’s used to talk about the future because they do not regard the “will future” as a true future tense (and the term “helping verb” refers to verbs that are used to form tenses).

You can use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help find alternative ways of referring to the future in your texts.
Is will a subordinating conjunction?: No, will is not a subordinating conjunction. It can either function as a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”).

The future tenses (simple future and future perfect etc.) use the verb “will.”

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you find alternative ways of referring to the future time in your texts.
What does gonna mean?: Gonna is an informal alternative to going to used in everyday speech (e.g., “I think it’s gonna rain today”).

You can use QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool in various different modes, including “formal,” “academic,” and “creative,” to help you strike the right tone.
What is the meaning of take heart?: The most common meaning of “take heart” is “to stay hopeful and courageous during challenging times.” “Take heart” is an idiomatic phrase that someone says to inspire or encourage another person.

You can say “take heart” by itself or followed by a prepositional phrase that begins with “in” or a noun clause that begins with “that.”

“Take heart. This too shall pass.”

“Older adults who are worried about the future should take heart in the next generation’s commitment to equity.”

“Even though we lost the game, we should take heart that we learned a lot this season.”

When you’re writing with idiomatic phrases or phrasal verbs with “take,” the QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
What is the meaning of take my breath away?: “Take my breath away” means “to be exceptionally beautiful, exciting, or surprising.” For example, a wedding guest might say, “Lily took my breath away when she walked down the aisle.” (It’s also the title of a love song by Berlin from the 1980s.)

You can substitute “my” with any other possessive adjective or possessive noun (e.g., “The view of the Grand Canyon really takes your breath away”). Another variation is the adjective “breathtaking,” which is a compound word that means “exciting.”

“Take one’s breath away” is a common idiomatic phrase in English. It’s a bit tricky because “take” is an irregular verb with conjugations like “took” and “taken.”

Luckily, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use idiomatic phrases and phrasal verbs with “take” correctly.
What is the meaning of take a load off?: “Take a load off” means “to relax or release a burden.” This idiomatic phrase is most commonly associated with the line “Take a load off, Annie” in The Band’s iconic song “The Weight.”

You can tell someone to take a load off when you invite them to sit down and relax (e.g., “You must be tired. Take a load off, and I’ll get you a drink”).

You can also take a load (i.e., a burden) off of something or someone (e.g., “The new administrative assistant took a huge load off of the office manager”).

When you’re writing with idioms or phrasal verbs with “take,” QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool can show you alternatives.
What is the meaning of take me back?: The meaning of “take me back” is usually “to remind me of a previous time that I remember fondly.”

People sometimes say “take me back” all by itself in a conversation about a time they long for (e.g., “These onesies remind me of when Maya was a baby. Take me back”). It’s become a catchphrase or common exclamation in popular culture.

You can also say that something “takes me back” (or use any other object pronoun for the person who is “taken back”) when it reminds you of a previous time (e.g., “These tiny cowboy boots take me back to when Maya was a baby”).

Yet another meaning for “take me back” is “allow me to have a relationship with you again” (e.g., “I begged the company that laid me off to take me back”).

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use “take back” and other phrasal verbs with “take” correctly in your writing.
Is it takeout or take-out?: It can be “takeout” or “take-out.” “Takeout” is a compound noun that means “food that you order from a restaurant to eat somewhere else” (e.g., “We didn’t have time to eat at the restaurant, so we ordered takeout”). In UK English, “takeaway” is more common.

“Take-out” (with a hyphen) is an adjective (as well as a compound word) that modifies a noun that pertains to the food that you can take out (e.g., “The line for take-out BBQ was too long, so we left”). The UK version of this is “take-away.”

Remembering when to use hyphens for the variations of phrasal verbs with take can be tricky. Luckily, QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can show you which version is right.
Is it setup or set up?: It can be setup or set up depending on whether you’re using a compound noun or a phrasal verb.

“Set up” is a phrasal verb with multiple meanings, including these:

To build or assemble a structure (e.g., “We’ll set up the new Ikea desk tomorrow”)

To create a false impression that someone did something wrong (e.g., “George didn’t steal the answer key. Someone set him up”)

“Setup” is a noun with two possible meanings:

An arrangement of objects or details (e.g., “We have the perfect setup for overnight guests”)

The act of setting someone up for a crime or wrongdoing that they didn’t actually commit (e.g., “Bart didn’t pull the fire alarm. It was a setup”)

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly show you whether to use “setup” or “set up” in your writing.
What is the meaning of all set?: The meaning of all set is “ready and prepared.” “All set” usually goes after the verb “be” (e.g., “We are all set for the party tomorrow” or “The agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is all set”).

People sometimes use “all set” to respond to a question about whether they need anything (e.g., “Can I get you anything else to drink? No, I am all set”).

“All set” is common in everyday conversation, but it’s usually too casual for formal writing. Luckily, the QuillBot paraphrasing tool can show you alternatives.
What is the meaning of dead set?: The meaning of dead set is “very determined.” If someone has firmly decided to do (or not do) something, they are dead set on it.

Tabitha is dead set on getting a new car.

The senators are dead set on passing the bill.

“Dead set” is common in everyday conversation, but it’s usually too casual for formal writing. QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool can show you alternatives to “dead set” and other informal phrases.
What is the meaning of set in stone?: The meaning of set in stone is “impossible or difficult to change.” “Set in stone” is an idiom. Some example sentences with “set in stone” include the following:

The schedule is already set in stone. We can’t make any changes.

The itinerary for the trip to Cape Hatteras isn’t set in stone, but we have a few sites we hope to see.

“Set in stone” is common in everyday conversation, but it’s usually too casual for formal writing. QuillBot’s free paraphrasing tool can show you formal alternatives.
What is the meaning of set the Thames on fire?: The meaning of set the Thames on fire is “to make people excited.” It’s an idiom that refers to a river in the UK (e.g., “The sequel to the movie didn’t really set the Thames on fire”).

If you’re ever writing with this expression, remember to capitalize “Thames.” Why not try the QuillBot Grammar Checker for help with capitalization and spelling?
What is the meaning of come to terms with?: The meaning of “come to terms with” is “to gradually accept.” The word that comes after “with” is almost always a noun or noun phrase that is a challenging situation. The following examples show how to use “come to terms with” in a sentence:

Once I came to terms with the layoff, I started to enjoy some time away from work.

Nate hasn’t come to terms with the divorce yet.

When you’re writing with the idiom “come to terms with,” remember that “come” is an irregular verb that’s conjugated “came” in the past tense. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you use irregular verbs correctly in your writing.
Is it comeback or come back?: It can be comeback or come back, depending on what part of speech you’re using. “Come back” is a phrasal verb with “come” that means “to return to a location” or “to become successful or fashionable again.”

The following example shows how to use “come back” as a verb.

Low-rise jeans have come back in style this year.

“Comeback” (one word) is a compound noun (not a phrasal verb) that means “a return to former success” or “a witty reply.” The following sentence uses the noun “comeback”:

Low-rise jeans have made a comeback.

When you’re writing with compound words like “comeback” or “come back,” the QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly show you how to format them correctly.
What is the meaning of come clean?: The meaning of “come clean” is “to confess to something you’ve been doing secretly.” “Come clean” is an idiom, so it has a figurative rather than a literal meaning. The following examples show how to use “come clean”:

Did Bart come clean about eating Lisa’s candy?

Chad came clean about his secret love for pop music.

When you’re writing with phrasal verbs with “come” or idioms like “come clean,” QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
Is it make do or make due?: It is make do not make due. “Make do” is one of the idioms and phrasal verbs with make, and it means “to manage with limited resources” (e.g., “The refrigerator is almost empty, but we can make do and cook eggs for dinner”).

Have you tried the QuillBot Grammar Checker for help with common errors like “make due”? It can instantly show you the correct spelling for various idioms and phrasal verbs.
Is it makeup or make up?: It can be makeup or make up depending on which part of speech you’re using. “Makeup” and “make up” are both compound words, but they’re different parts of speech. “Make up” is a verb, and “makeup” is a noun.

“Make up” is a phrasal verb that means “to complete something unfinished,” “to invent,” or “to apply cosmetics” (e.g., “Every morning, I make myself up with mascara and lip gloss”).

The noun “makeup” (no space) usually means “cosmetics” (e.g., “She uses a special mirror to apply makeup”).

When you’re unsure about whether to use “makeup” or “make up” or how to write various phrasal verbs with make, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly show you the correct choice.
Is it make-up or makeup?: It is usually makeup, not make-up. “Makeup” is a compound noun (a type of compound word) that doesn’t have a hyphen. “Makeup” usually means “cosmetics” (e.g., “The model’s makeup was natural and subtle”). “Makeup” comes from the phrasal verb “make up.”

When you’re writing with phrasal verbs with make or compound words, the QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly show you when to use a space, a hyphen, or one word.
What is the definition of make bank?: The definition of make bank is “to make a lot of money” (e.g., “Julian is currently making bank as a real estate agent”). It’s a slang word that’s similar to the idioms and phrasal verbs with make.

Because “make bank” is very informal, you should usually avoid it in formal writing, but the QuillBot paraphrasing tool can show you formal alternatives.
Is it smooths or smoothes?: Both smooths and smoothes are acceptable spellings of the third-person singular simple present tense form of the verb smooth (e.g., “The painter smooths/smoothes the paint while it is still wet”). Smooths is the original form since it follows the standard rule of adding an -s to the verb; however, smoothes has more recently become an acceptable variant.

Use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to instantly confirm the spelling of any word.
What are some synonyms for off-putting?: Synonyms for off-putting include “unpleasant,” “unappealing,” and “distasteful.” “Off-putting is an adjective and a compound word that comes from the phrasal verb “put off.”

When something is off-putting to someone or puts someone off, it causes them to feel dislike or disinterest.

“Off-putting” is an informal word choice, so in formal writing (e.g., essays), one of the synonyms is usually more appropriate. The QuillBot Paraphraser can instantly show you formal ways to say “off-putting.”
What’s a synonym for putting off?: A synonym for putting off (e.g., “I’m putting it off until tomorrow”) is “delaying,” “postponing,” “procrastinating,” or “rescheduling.”

“Putting off” is the present participle of “put off,” which is a phrasal verb. When someone is putting a task off, they’re deciding to do it later than scheduled or expected.

“Putting off” is a casual word choice, but its synonyms are more formal. When you need to adjust the tone of casual word choices like “putting off,” the QuillBot paraphrasing tool will show you formal alternatives.
What does spring forward fall back mean?: “Spring forward fall back” refers to the time changes that occur because of daylight savings.

On the second Sunday in March, in places that observe daylight saving, everyone sets their clocks one hour ahead. When it’s time to fall back on the first Sunday in November, people move their clocks back an hour.

QuillBot’s AI Chat is a free and helpful resource when you have questions about idioms and phrasal verbs with “fall.”
What does the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree mean?: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” means that a person closely resembles one of their parents or caregivers. For example, if a child and mother both have strong math skills, someone might say, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

In this English idiom, the apple is a metaphor for the child, and the tree is a metaphor for the parent or caregiver.

There are many idioms and phrasal verbs with “fall” in the English language, and QuillBot’s AI Chat can answer questions about them.
What does till the wheels fall off mean?: “Till the wheels fall off” means “until it’s no longer possible.” This English idiom uses a car as a metaphor for anything that you can use until it’s no longer functional or fixable (even if it doesn’t have wheels).

“Fall off” is one of the phrasal verbs with “fall,” and it means “to detach.” Here are a few examples of how to use “till the wheels fall off” in a sentence:

Our air conditioner is 50 years old, and we’re not replacing it until the wheels come off.

Mia used her old backpack till the wheels came off.

When you’re curious about other English idioms, QuillBot’s AI Chat can provide quick answers.
What does fall head over heels mean?: “Fall head over heels” means “to have sudden and intense romantic feelings for someone.” It’s an English idiom that uses the physical act of falling as a metaphor. Here are a couple of examples:

After just two dates, Taylor fell head over heels for Travis.

Haley didn’t fall head over heels for Alex at first, but she’s very much in love with him now.

When you’re curious about other idioms and phrasal verbs with “fall,” ask QuillBot’s AI Chat for definitions and examples.

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Verbs: Other interesting questions

Base form	Simple past	Past participle
be (is, am, are)	was/were	been
do	did	done
eat	ate	eaten
go	went	gone
sing	sang	sung

Tense	Example
Present perfect	I have eaten
Past perfect	I had eaten
Future perfect	I will have eaten
Present perfect progressive (present perfect continuous)	I have been eating
Past perfect progressive	I had been eating
Future perfect progressive	I will have been eating