VERBONKSPlay freeBreak past tense and past participlebreak · broke · broken
The past participle (the 3rd form) of break is broken and the past simple is broke. The three forms are break, broke, broken. Not "breaked"! break is an irregular verb, so it doesn't add -ed.
Break in a sentence
I broke my phone screen again.
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
| Present simple | I break · she breaks |
| Present continuous | I am breaking · they are breaking |
| Past simple | I broke · she broke · they broke |
| Past simple, negative | I didn't break · she didn't break |
| Past simple, question | Did you break? · Did she break? |
| Present perfect | I have broken · she has broken |
| Past perfect | I had broken |
| Future | I will break |
Common mistakes with break
✗ I breaked✓ I broke✗ I didn't broke✓ I didn't break✗ Did you broke?✓ Did you break?✗ I have broke✓ I have broken
After didn't and in questions with did, use the base form. After have / has / had, use the past participle.
❓ Test yourself: 10-question quizEn español
break significa romper. Pasado: broke. Participio: broken.
💔 break runs with The Broken Gang
o · o + en
Every member of the Broken Gang was caught with an o in their pocket: broke, spoke, woke, stole, froze, chose, forgot, wore. In the participle they keep the o and add -en: broken, spoken, stolen, frozen, chosen, forgotten. wear is the quiet one. It only adds an -n: worn.
🔎 How to spot one: The past has an o. The participle is the past + -en (or -n).
Irregular verbs come in gangs that change the same way. Learn one and you can guess the rest of the gang:
| Base | Past | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| break | broke | broken |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| wake | woke | woken |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| wear | wore | worn |
Questions about break
What is the past tense of break?
The past simple of "break" is "broke". Example: I broke my phone screen again.
What is the past participle of break?
The past participle (3rd form, V3) of "break" is "broken", as in "I have broken".
What are the 3 forms of break?
V1 break, V2 broke, V3 broken.
Is break a regular or an irregular verb?
"break" is an irregular verb: the past is not "breaked" but "broke".
¿Cuál es el pasado y el participio de break?
"break" significa "romper". Pasado: broke. Participio: broken.