Shine is a verb that means “give off a bright light” or “polish something.” The past tense can cause some confusion because it is shined or shone depending on the meaning, and it can vary between American and British English.
In general, in American English, when shine is a transitive verb (i.e., a verb that takes a direct object) the simple past tense and past participle are both shined (e.g., “He shined the silver candlesticks”). As an intransitive verb (i.e., a verb that has no direct object) the past tense and past participle are shone (e.g., “The moon shone bright that night”).
Past tense of shine in a sentence examples
Shine as a transitive verb
Shine as an intransitive verb
As the youngest child, Jeff shined everyone’s shoes each night.
Gail had excitedly shined her new flashlight in the darkness.
The chrome on the classic Jaguar shone in the bright sunlight.
For a while her fame had shone before her popularity faded away.
This is more of a general principle than a strict rule. You will often hear shined and shone used interchangeably in American English, but only “shined” is appropriate when used to mean “polish.”
Lie is a verb that means “be in a horizontal position.” It is an irregular verb with the simple past tense form lay (e.g., “The cat lay on the mat”) and the past participlelain (e.g., “The snow had lain undisturbed for days”).
Lie is also used with the meaning “be in place” (e.g., “The first aid kit lay ready for immediate use”) or as a synonym for “be” (e.g., “The answer lay in the notebook”).
Past tense of lie in a sentence examples
Past tense of lie
Past participle of lie
The commandos lay hidden in the long grass, waiting for the patrol to appear.
I was so tired I lay down the moment I reached home.
The destination lay just over the horizon.
From the moment he had lain on the bed, he had slept.
The virus had lain dormant for years, but now it was active and dangerous.
The guilt had lain on his shoulders for longer than he could remember.
NotePart of the confusion with the past tense of lie is that there is a completely different verb “lie,” meaning “tell an untruth, deceive,” which is spelled the same. Lie in this sense is a regular verb with the past tense and past participle “lied.”
The QuillBot Paraphraser can help you rephrase sentences to avoid ambiguity and mistakes.
Drag has many meanings, but most of them relate to something being moved with some difficulty from one place to the other. In its most common usage, it means “pull (with difficulty) along the ground.”
Dragged in a sentence examplesThe bag was too heavy to carry, so Filip dragged it behind him.
I was desperate to go to the concert with someone, so I dragged Julie along.
Fiona was frustrated that when she dragged the image to a new location, the text became misaligned.
NoteRegular verbs form the past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” to the infinitive. In some cases where the infinitive ends in a consonant, the consonant is doubled up (e.g., “dragged,” “bagged,” “lagged,” and “snagged”).
Go is an irregular verb meaning “move” or “leave.” It is one of the more confusing verbs in English because the simple past is the apparently unrelated word went (e.g., “Asif went to the hospital yesterday”).
The past participle of “go” is gone (e.g., “Elaine had gone to great lengths to accommodate everyone’s needs”).
Past tense of go in a sentence examples
Simple past of go
Past participle of go
The new car went like a rocket.
Sonia was 16 when she first went to the Olympics as a competitor.
Everyone was having so much fun, and the time went so quickly.
He had no idea where the money had gone.
They had gone to use the pool as soon as they arrived at the hotel.
The days have come and gone with dizzying speed.
NoteThe confusing nature of the simple past tense of go is because of a process called “suppletion,” whereby a word is used that isn’t etymologically connected to fill a gap. Went is the original past tense and past participle of the verb “wend,” which has a meaning similar to go.
Another example of suppletion is “better” as the comparative form of the adjective “good.”
Take is an irregular verb with many different uses and meanings. But in all cases, it has the past tense took and the past participle taken. You will sometimes see “tooken” used as the past participle, but this is incorrect.
Cost is a verb that refers to the amount of money that goods or services are priced at (e.g., “The meal cost more than he had expected”). The simple past and past participle are both cost because it is an irregular verb that doesn’t follow the pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tenses.
In British English, there is another meaning of cost, “provide a financial estimate,” which is a regular verb, so the past tense and past participle are costed (e.g., “I costed that job yesterday”).
Cost is also a noun that means “the price of something” (e.g., “She knew the cost of business in the city”).
Cost in a sentence examples
Cost as simple past
Cost as past participle
The new camera cost less than the one it replaced.
The insurance on my first car cost more than the car itself.
Although it had cost $20, it was the best burger he’d ever had!
They canceled the holiday because it would have cost too much in the end.
Capital and capitol are two nouns that are spelled almost identically and pronounced the same. Their meanings are different, however.
Capital has quite a number of meanings and is the more common word. It is a noun that refers to the governing city of a nation or province, an uppercase letter, or financial assets. It is also an adjective that means “excellent,” “primary,” or “punishable by death.”
Capitol is less common and is used to describe a government building that houses a state or national legislature. When referring specifically to the building in Washington, D.C., that houses the US Congress or to a particular state capitol building, it is spelled with an uppercase “C.”
Capital in a sentence examples
Capitol in a sentence examples
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom.
The hardest thing about starting a business can be finding the capital you need.
In most countries in the world, capital punishment has been abolished.
Nelson Mandela was accorded the honor of addressing both houses of Congress at the Capitol in 1990.
Some people consider the Iowa State Capitol to be the finest in the USA.
I’ve only been inside two state capitol buildings.
TipA QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you use “capital” and “capitol” correctly!
Put is a verb meaning “to place” (e.g., “Aidan put the vase on the table”). It is an irregular verb and doesn’t form the simple past or past participle by adding “-ed.” Instead, its past tense and past participle are also “put.”
Put requires a direct object and is often followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g., “in the closet,” “next to the chair”). “Put” is also used to form many phrasal verbs (e.g., “put off,” “put down”).
Past tense of put in a sentence examplesElijah put the roast in the oven.
The firefighters had put the fire out very quickly.
A self-fulfilling prophecy describes a set of circumstances where a person’s belief about a future situation contributes to that belief coming true. It is more likely to be a negative belief or outcome. The explanation for the phenomenon is that our expectations unconsciously affect our behavior.
Self-fulfilling prophecy exampleYou are a keen amateur photographer, and your brother has asked you to photograph his wedding. You can’t really say no, but you don’t think you are good enough. As a consequence, you are nervous on the day, fumbling with the camera and equipment, and making the bridal party and guests nervous.
As a result, the photos are awkward and don’t come up to the standard you would like. Your beliefs about your abilities have caused you to underperform, and what you feared would come true, has.
A self-fulfilling prophecy is not necessarily a negative thing, and it can be positive. Self-fulfilling prophecies can be found in all manner of contexts, such as business, healthcare, or education.
Most dictionaries indicate that the correct past tense and past participle of the irregular verbgrind is “ground.” Some recognize “grinded” as a widely used alternative, but it would be wise to avoid it in formal or academic writing.
Past tense of ground in a sentence examples
Formal English
Informal English
The barista ground the coffee with expert precision.
The pressure of the job had ground Joe down over the years.
The glass had been ground to produce an opaque finish.
Josh grinded the rail on his skateboard like a pro.
It wasn’t pretty, but the team grinded out the win.
Stella winced as her boyfriend grinded the gears of her Mustang.
NoteThere is a separate verb “ground,” which describes when a plane is kept on the ground or a child is not allowed to leave their house as a punishment (e.g., “Bill’s plane had been grounded by the terrible weather” or “Rose knew that she was going to be grounded for this”).
