Past Tense of Set | Examples & Meaning
The simple past tense of set is “set.” The past participle of “set” is also “set.”
Common meanings of the verb “set” include:
- To decide or fix something (e.g., “set a goal” or “set a budget”)
- To prepare for operation by adjusting (e.g., “set an alarm” or “set the temperature”)
| Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|
| We set the date for the picnic at the meeting yesterday. | Have you set a date for the picnic yet? |
| I set my phone to silent before the meeting. | I thought I’d set my phone to silent. |
Set past tense
Set is an irregular verb—its simple past tense and past participle forms are also “set.” Other verbs that follow this conjugation pattern include beat, cost, and hurt.
| Grammatical form | Example in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Simple past tense | The sales target my boss set me for this quarter is very high. |
| Present perfect tense | They’ve set me an unrealistic sales target. |
| Past perfect tense | I complained that they’d set me an unrealistic sales target. |
| Simple past passive voice | I don’t know how the target was set. |
| Modal verb + auxiliary verb “have” | We should have set you a lower target. |
*Setted
Setted is not a standard form of the verb “set.” The past simple and past participle of “set” is also “set.”
- I set the alarm but it didn’t go off because the battery ran out.
- I setted the alarm but it didn’t go off because the battery ran out.
- I’ve set my alarm for 6 a.m.
- I’ve setted my alarm for 6 a.m.
In British English, the verb set is sometimes used in a technical sense to mean “organize students into groups according to ability.” When used with this meaning, setted is an accepted past tense and past participle form of the verb (e.g., “Maths lessons at the school are setted in year 7”).
Set up past tense
The simple past tense and past participle form of the phrasal verb set up is also “set up.”
Have you set up your new phone yet?
I called the IT department to ask them if they’d set my laptop up yet.
They should’ve set your laptop up by now.
Frequently asked questions about the past tense of set
- 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?
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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.
