Kevin
November 14, 2020
What is The Past Tense of...
If you have ever been curious about the correct past tense of eat in the English language, this article will clear that up plus give you a look into the history of the word, the definition, and everything else you could want to learn about the word.Â
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
The English verb eat is defined as:
Here are the other verb conjugations of the word eat, including the past tense verb forms:
Base Form (Infinitive):
Eat
Simple Present Tense in Third-Person Singular (He/She/It):
Eats
Simple Past Tense (Preterite):
Ate
Past Participle:
Eaten
Present Participle/Gerund:
Eating
Present Perfect Tense:
Eating
Past Perfect Tense:
Had eaten
The word eat has been around long before the 12th century. The Old English word etan, meaning to consume food, devour, consume, comes from the German verb etan from PIE root ed, literally meaning to eat. The sense of the word meaning to corrode or wear away comes from the 1500s. This century also brought the slang phrases to eat one’s words and eat one’s heart out. In the 1800s the phrase what’s eating you was used. Then the term eating out started being used in the 1900s with the popularity and convenience of restaurants.
Verb
NounÂ
Next time you need to write the irregular verb eat, you will be well prepared for everything you need to know what it is and how to use it efficiently within English grammar. If you’re learning English, you should feel confident with the different conjugations, the history of the word, and the definition.
