Verb forms
Base form
/fɔːl/
Past Simple
/fel/
Past Participle
/ˈfɔːlən/
Example sentences
Base form · fall
- Leaves fall from the trees in autumn.
Past Simple · fell
- She fell off her bike and hurt her knee.
- She fell without any hesitation.
- They fell it again the following morning.
- He didn't fall anything at the meeting.
Past Participle · fallen
- House prices have fallen sharply this year.
- I have already fallen it more than once.
- She has just fallen the very same thing.
- By the time we arrived, they had fallen everything.
Common collocations
fall asleep
to begin sleeping
fall in love
to begin to love someone
fall behind
to fail to keep pace
Key tenses
| Present Simple | Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|---|
I fall he / she / it falls | I fell | I have fallen |
| Present Continuous:I am falling · he / she / it is falling | ||
Grammar guide
The verb "fall" is fully irregular — all three principal parts are distinct: the base form "fall", the past simple "fell", and the past participle "fallen". The ABC group contains many of the most common and important verbs in English, so learning them is essential for fluency.
Use the past simple "fell" for actions, events, or states that were completed at a definite point in the past. It is the main verb in the clause and needs no auxiliary: "We fell the whole project in three days." Typical time markers include yesterday, last week, ago, when, and at + a specific time. The past simple is the most frequently used past tense in spoken and written English.
The past participle "fallen" is never used on its own as a main verb. It appears in: (1) the present perfect with have/has — "I have never fallen anything like it before"; (2) the past perfect with had — "She had already fallen before I arrived"; (3) passive voice with a form of be — "The final version was fallen by the whole team." These three structures together cover the great majority of perfect and passive constructions in English.
The ABC group demands the most memorisation because each verb has three unique forms to learn. Focus first on the highest-frequency verbs: be (was/were/been), do (did/done), go (went/gone), know (knew/known), take (took/taken), see (saw/seen), give (gave/given), and write (wrote/written). Regular reading and listening is the most effective way to make ABC verb forms automatic — passive exposure reinforces the patterns far better than drills alone.
Quick quiz
Which sentence is correct?
Conjugation pattern
All three forms are different — this group needs the most practice.
Verbs with the same pattern