VERBONKSPlay freeSleep past tense and past participlesleep · slept · slept
The past participle (the 3rd form) of sleep is slept and the past simple is slept. The three forms are sleep, slept, slept. Not "sleeped"! sleep is an irregular verb, so it doesn't add -ed.
Sleep in a sentence
The dog slept through the whole exam.
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
| Present simple | I sleep · she sleeps |
| Present continuous | I am sleeping · they are sleeping |
| Past simple | I slept · she slept · they slept |
| Past simple, negative | I didn't sleep · she didn't sleep |
| Past simple, question | Did you sleep? · Did she sleep? |
| Present perfect | I have slept · she has slept |
| Past perfect | I had slept |
| Future | I will sleep |
Common mistakes with sleep
✗ I sleeped✓ I slept✗ I didn't slept✓ I didn't sleep✗ Did you slept?✓ Did you sleep?✗ I have sleep✓ I have slept
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
sleep significa dormir. Pasado: slept. Participio: slept.
🛌 sleep runs with The Sleepy Gang
ee → e + t
Every member of the Sleepy Gang has a long, dreamy ee sound... until they wake up in the past. Then the long sound snaps short and a little -t appears at the end, like an alarm clock: sleep → slept, keep → kept, feel → felt, leave → left. Witnesses say you can hear it: sleeeep... slept!
🔎 How to spot one: A long ee now, a short e + t in the past. Past and participle are twins.
Irregular verbs come in gangs that change the same way. Learn one and you can guess the rest of the gang:
| Base | Past | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| sleep | slept | slept |
| keep | kept | kept |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| weep | wept | wept |
| feel | felt | felt |
| leave | left | left |
Questions about sleep
What is the past tense of sleep?
The past simple of "sleep" is "slept". Example: The dog slept through the whole exam.
What is the past participle of sleep?
The past participle (3rd form, V3) of "sleep" is "slept", as in "I have slept".
What are the 3 forms of sleep?
V1 sleep, V2 slept, V3 slept.
Is sleep a regular or an irregular verb?
"sleep" is an irregular verb: the past is not "sleeped" but "slept".
¿Cuál es el pasado y el participio de sleep?
"sleep" significa "dormir". Pasado: slept. Participio: slept.