Past Tense of Leave | Examples & Meaning
The simple past tense of leave is “left” (e.g., “I left early because I had another appointment”). The past participle of the verb “leave” is also “left” (e.g., “I’ve left my umbrella at work”).
| Simple past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|
| Martina left the party about an hour ago. | I think Martina has already left. |
| Someone left their violin on the train, so I told the conductor. | She just told the conductor that someone had left their violin on the train. |
Leave past tense
You don’t make the simple past tense or past participle forms of the verb leave by adding “-ed” to the infinitive because it’s an irregular verb. The simple past and past participle form of “leave” is “left.”
| Grammatical form | Example in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Simple past tense | He left for the airport a couple of hours ago. |
| Present perfect tense | Has he left for the airport yet? |
| Past perfect tense | Lenka said he’d already left. |
| Passive voice | The stable door was left open. |
| Modal verb + auxiliary verb “have” | You shouldn’t have left it open. |
Leave past participle
The past participle of leave is “left,” not “leaved.” The verb “leave” is an irregular verb that has the same past participle and past simple form (like the verbs “bring,” “catch,” “lead,” “lend,” “seek,” “teach,” and “think”).
Frequently asked questions about the past tense of leave
- What does left in the dark mean?
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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 are some irregular past tense verbs?
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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
