What is the past participle of fly?

The past participle of fly is flown.

What are the three forms of fly?

The three forms are fly – flew – flown: base form, past simple and past participle.

Is fly a regular or an irregular verb?

Fly is irregular: its past simple is flew, not flied.

Fly past tense: flew, flown

move through air

Fly is an irregular English verb: the past simple of fly is flew and the past participle is flown. Learn the three forms together — fly – flew – flown.

Verb forms

Base form

fly

/flaɪ/

Past Simple

flew

/fluː/

Past Participle

flown

/fləʊn/

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

Example sentences

Base form · fly

These birds fly south every winter.

Past Simple · flew

We flew to Rome for a long weekend.

Past Participle · flown

She has flown over a million miles for work.

Key tenses

Present Simple	Past Simple	Present Perfect
I fly he / she / it flies	I flew	I have flown
Present Continuous:I am flying · he / she / it is flying

Learn when to use these forms:Past Simple lesson →Present Perfect lesson →

Grammar guide

Fly belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (fly – flew – flown), so each form has to be learnt separately.

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

Verbs with the same pattern

be — was/were — been do — did — done go — went — gone know — knew — known take — took — taken see — saw — seen

Quick quiz

Which sentence is correct?

Questions about fly

What is the past simple of fly?: The past simple of fly is flew.
What is the past participle of fly?: The past participle of fly is flown.
What are the three forms of fly?: The three forms are fly – flew – flown: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is fly a regular or an irregular verb?: Fly is irregular: its past simple is flew, not flied.