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Flee past tense: fled, fled

run away

Flee is an irregular English verb: the past simple of flee is fled and the past participle is fled. Learn the three forms together — flee – fled – fled.

Verb forms

Base form

flee

/fliː/

Past Simple

fled

/fled/

Past Participle

fled

/fled/

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

Example sentences

Base form · flee

Animals flee from forest fires.

Past Simple · fled

Thousands fled the city before the storm.

Past Participle · fled

The suspects have fled the country.

Key tenses

Present SimplePast SimplePresent Perfect
I flee
he / she / it flees
I fledI have fled
Present Continuous:I am fleeing  ·  he / she / it is fleeing
Learn when to use these forms:Past Simple lesson →Present Perfect lesson →

Grammar guide

Flee belongs to the ABB group: the past simple and the past participle are the same (fled). This is the largest group of irregular verbs — you only need to learn one past form.

  • Past simple – fled: a finished action at a definite time in the past. It is used on its own, without an auxiliary.
  • Past participle – fled: 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 flee…? I didn’t flee.

Verbs with the same pattern

have — had — hadsay — said — saidget — got — got/gottenmake — made — madethink — thought — thoughtfind — found — found

Quick quiz

Which sentence is correct?

Questions about flee

What is the past simple of flee?
The past simple of flee is fled.
What is the past participle of flee?
The past participle of flee is fled.
What are the three forms of flee?
The three forms are flee – fled – fled: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is flee a regular or an irregular verb?
Flee is irregular: its past simple is fled, not fleed.
Flee past tense: fled, fled — irregular verb forms