Wear past tense: wore, worn
carry on body
Wear is an irregular English verb: the past simple of wear is wore and the past participle is worn. Learn the three forms together — wear – wore – worn.
Verb forms
Base form
/weə/
Past Simple
/wɔː/
Past Participle
/wɔːn/
Press the speaker button to hear each form. The transcription under each word shows the British pronunciation (IPA).
Example sentences
Base form · wear
I wear glasses for reading.
Past Simple · wore
He wore his best suit to the interview.
Past Participle · worn
This jacket has been worn only twice.
Key tenses
| Present Simple | Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|---|
I wear he / she / it wears | I wore | I have worn |
| Present Continuous:I am wearing · he / she / it is wearing | ||
Common collocations
wear out
to become unusable through use
wear a uniform
to be dressed in official clothing
Grammar guide
Wear belongs to the ABC group: all three forms are different (wear – wore – worn), so each form has to be learnt separately.
- Past simple – wore: a finished action at a definite time in the past. It is used on its own, without an auxiliary.
- Past participle – worn: 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 wear…? I didn’t wear.
Verbs with the same pattern
Quick quiz
Which sentence is correct?
Questions about wear
- What is the past simple of wear?
- The past simple of wear is wore.
- What is the past participle of wear?
- The past participle of wear is worn.
- What are the three forms of wear?
- The three forms are wear – wore – worn: base form, past simple and past participle.
- Is wear a regular or an irregular verb?
- Wear is irregular: its past simple is wore, not weared.