Drive past tense: drove, driven
operate a vehicle
Drive is an irregular English verb: the past simple of drive is drove and the past participle is driven. Learn the three forms together — drive – drove – driven.
Verb forms
Base form
/draɪv/
Past Simple
/drəʊv/
Past Participle
/ˈdrɪvn/
Press the speaker button to hear each form. The transcription under each word shows the British pronunciation (IPA).
Example sentences
Base form · drive
I drive my children to school every morning.
Past Simple · drove
We drove along the coast for three hours.
Past Participle · driven
He has driven this route hundreds of times.
Key tenses
| Present Simple | Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|---|
I drive he / she / it drives | I drove | I have driven |
| Present Continuous:I am driving · he / she / it is driving | ||
Common collocations
drive a car
to operate a vehicle
drive someone crazy
to annoy someone a great deal
Grammar guide
Drive belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (drive – drove – driven), so each form has to be learnt separately.
- Past simple – drove: a finished action at a definite time in the past. It is used on its own, without an auxiliary.
- Past participle – driven: 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 drive…? I didn’t drive.
Verbs with the same pattern
Quick quiz
Which sentence is correct?
Questions about drive
- What is the past simple of drive?
- The past simple of drive is drove.
- What is the past participle of drive?
- The past participle of drive is driven.
- What are the three forms of drive?
- The three forms are drive – drove – driven: base form, past simple and past participle.
- Is drive a regular or an irregular verb?
- Drive is irregular: its past simple is drove, not drived.