What is the past participle of teach?

The past participle of teach is taught.

What are the three forms of teach?

The three forms are teach – taught – taught: base form, past simple and past participle.

Is teach a regular or an irregular verb?

Teach is irregular: its past simple is taught, not teached.

Teach past tense: taught, taught

instruct

Teach is an irregular English verb: the past simple of teach is taught and the past participle is taught. Learn the three forms together — teach – taught – taught.

Verb forms

Base form

teach

/tiːtʃ/

Past Simple

taught

/tɔːt/

Past Participle

taught

/tɔːt/

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

Example sentences

Base form · teach

She teaches mathematics at the local school.

Past Simple · taught

My father taught me how to ride a bike.

Past Participle · taught

He has taught hundreds of students over the years.

Key tenses

Present Simple	Past Simple	Present Perfect
I teach he / she / it teaches	I taught	I have taught
Present Continuous:I am teaching · he / she / it is teaching

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

Grammar guide

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

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

Verbs with the same pattern

have — had — had say — said — said get — got — got/gotten make — made — made think — thought — thought find — found — found

Quick quiz

Which sentence is correct?

Questions about teach

What is the past simple of teach?: The past simple of teach is taught.
What is the past participle of teach?: The past participle of teach is taught.
What are the three forms of teach?: The three forms are teach – taught – taught: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is teach a regular or an irregular verb?: Teach is irregular: its past simple is taught, not teached.