Verb forms
Base form
/raɪt/
Past Simple
/roʊt/
Past Participle
/ˈrɪtən/
Example sentences
Base form · write
- I write in my journal every evening.
Past Simple · wrote
- He wrote his first novel at the age of twenty.
- He didn't write anything at the meeting.
- Did you write it before lunch?
- I wrote it as soon as I possibly could.
Past Participle · written
- This song was written over fifty years ago.
- I have already written it more than once.
- She has just written the very same thing.
- By the time we arrived, they had written everything.
Common collocations
write down
to record something on paper
write back
to reply in writing
Key tenses
| Present Simple | Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|---|
I write he / she / it writes | I wrote | I have written |
| Present Continuous:I am writing · he / she / it is writing | ||
Grammar guide
The verb "write" is fully irregular — all three principal parts are distinct: the base form "write", the past simple "wrote", and the past participle "written". The ABC group contains many of the most common and important verbs in English, so learning them is essential for fluency.
Use the past simple "wrote" for actions, events, or states that were completed at a definite point in the past. It is the main verb in the clause and needs no auxiliary: "We wrote the whole project in three days." Typical time markers include yesterday, last week, ago, when, and at + a specific time. The past simple is the most frequently used past tense in spoken and written English.
The past participle "written" is never used on its own as a main verb. It appears in: (1) the present perfect with have/has — "I have never written anything like it before"; (2) the past perfect with had — "She had already written before I arrived"; (3) passive voice with a form of be — "The final version was written by the whole team." These three structures together cover the great majority of perfect and passive constructions in English.
The ABC group demands the most memorisation because each verb has three unique forms to learn. Focus first on the highest-frequency verbs: be (was/were/been), do (did/done), go (went/gone), know (knew/known), take (took/taken), see (saw/seen), give (gave/given), and write (wrote/written). Regular reading and listening is the most effective way to make ABC verb forms automatic — passive exposure reinforces the patterns far better than drills alone.
Quick quiz
Which sentence is correct?
Conjugation pattern
All three forms are different — this group needs the most practice.
Verbs with the same pattern