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Bear past tense: bore, borne

endure, carry

Bear is an irregular English verb: the past simple of bear is bore and the past participle is borne. Learn the three forms together — bear – bore – borne.

Verb forms

Base form

bear

/beə/

Past Simple

bore

/bɔː/

Past Participle

borne

/bɔːn/

Press the speaker button to hear each form. The transcription under each word shows the British pronunciation (IPA).

Example sentences

Base form · bear

These trees bear fruit twice a year.

Past Simple · bore

She bore the pain without complaint.

Past Participle · borne

The costs have been borne by the company.

Key tenses

Present SimplePast SimplePresent Perfect
I bear
he / she / it bears
I boreI have borne
Present Continuous:I am bearing  ·  he / she / it is bearing
Learn when to use these forms:Past Simple lesson →Present Perfect lesson →

Grammar guide

Bear belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (bear – bore – borne), so each form has to be learnt separately.

  • Past simple – bore: a finished action at a definite time in the past. It is used on its own, without an auxiliary.
  • Past participle – borne: after have, has or had (present perfect, past perfect) and after be in the passive voice.
  • Questions and negatives in the past simple use did + the base form: Did you bear…? I didn’t bear.

Verbs with the same pattern

be — was/were — beendo — did — donego — went — goneknow — knew — knowntake — took — takensee — saw — seen

Quick quiz

Which sentence is correct?

Questions about bear

What is the past simple of bear?
The past simple of bear is bore.
What is the past participle of bear?
The past participle of bear is borne.
What are the three forms of bear?
The three forms are bear – bore – borne: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is bear a regular or an irregular verb?
Bear is irregular: its past simple is bore, not beared.
Bear past tense: bore, borne — irregular verb forms