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Wake past tense: woke, woken

stop sleeping

Wake is an irregular English verb: the past simple of wake is woke and the past participle is woken. Learn the three forms together — wake – woke – woken.

Verb forms

Base form

wake

/weɪk/

Past Simple

woke

/wəʊk/

Past Participle

woken

/ˈwəʊkən/

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

Example sentences

Base form · wake

I wake up at six every morning without an alarm.

Past Simple · woke

The thunder woke the whole house.

Past Participle · woken

She had woken before sunrise to catch the flight.

Key tenses

Present SimplePast SimplePresent Perfect
I wake
he / she / it wakes
I wokeI have woken
Present Continuous:I am waking  ·  he / she / it is waking
Learn when to use these forms:Past Simple lesson →Present Perfect lesson →

Grammar guide

Wake belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (wake – woke – woken), so each form has to be learnt separately.

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

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 wake

What is the past simple of wake?
The past simple of wake is woke.
What is the past participle of wake?
The past participle of wake is woken.
What are the three forms of wake?
The three forms are wake – woke – woken: base form, past simple and past participle.
Is wake a regular or an irregular verb?
Wake is irregular: its past simple is woke, not waked.
Wake past tense: woke, woken — irregular verb forms