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Swim past tense: swam, swum

move through water

Swim is an irregular English verb: the past simple of swim is swam and the past participle is swum. Learn the three forms together — swim – swam – swum.

Verb forms

Base form

swim

/swɪm/

Past Simple

swam

/swæm/

Past Participle

swum

/swʌm/

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

Example sentences

Base form · swim

Dolphins swim incredibly fast.

Past Simple · swam

We swam in the lake every day last summer.

Past Participle · swum

She has swum across the Channel twice.

Key tenses

Present SimplePast SimplePresent Perfect
I swim
he / she / it swims
I swamI have swum
Present Continuous:I am swimming  ·  he / she / it is swimming
Learn when to use these forms:Past Simple lesson →Present Perfect lesson →

Grammar guide

Swim belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (swim – swam – swum), so each form has to be learnt separately.

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

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 swim

What is the past simple of swim?
The past simple of swim is swam.
What is the past participle of swim?
The past participle of swim is swum.
What are the three forms of swim?
The three forms are swim – swam – swum: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is swim a regular or an irregular verb?
Swim is irregular: its past simple is swam, not swimmed.
Swim past tense: swam, swum — irregular verb forms