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What is the Past Tense of Fly

The verb “fly” is a common word used in both a literal and figurative sense. In its literal form, it refers to the action of moving through the air using wings and/or the aid of engines. In its more figurative sense, it refers to objects that move through the air, usually at high speeds and invariably that have been thrown or cast by another.

However its past tense form can cause English learners some problems and we take a look below to try to make it easier to understand.

What is the past tense of “fly”?

Fly (verb):

(1) Move through the air with the aid of wings, such as the movement of birds and flying insects, or with the additional aid of engines and wings, like the movement of an aircraft

(2) Move through the air (usually at speed) after having been thrown or cast; travel at great speed

  • Infinitive                     to fly
  • Simple Past                flew
  • Past Participle            flown

Conjugation Table of “fly”

 PronounInfinitiveSimple PastPresent PerfectPresent Continuous
Iflyflewhave flownam flying
You (sing.)flyflewhave flownare flying
He/She/Itfliesflewhas flownis flying
Weflyflewhave flownare flying
You (pl.)flyflewhave flownare flying
Theyflyflewhave flownare flying

Example Sentences of “fly”

(1) Move through the air with the aid of wings, such as the movement of birds and flying insects, or with the additional aid of engines and wings, like the movement of an aircraft

  • Thanks to the strength in their wings, many large birds can fly great distances
  • It has been man’s dream to fly since time immemorial
  • They watched as the butterfly flew gracefully through the flower beds

(2) Move through the air (usually at speed) after having been thrown or cast; travel at great speed

  • He threw the ball very hard, sending it flying at his friend’s head
  • Out of nowhere, another driver flew across the intersection at great speed
  • As soon as he let go of the javelin, he saw it fly across the field and he knew he had won
what is the past tense of fly

Focus: Past Tense of Fly of “fly”

Here are a few more examples of how we can use fly in its various past-tense forms, including all of the following tenses:

  • Simple past
  • Present perfect
  • Past continuous
  • Past perfect

Simple Past of “fly”

  • We flew to Los Angeles to spend the holidays with our family out there
  • The geese flew from South Africa to Germany in an incredible journey
  • He was so late that he flew out of the door in a huge rush and forgot to eat breakfast

Present Perfect of “fly”

  • That paperwork was much easier than I thought. We have flown through it so fast!
  • Have you flown with British Airways before?
  • We have flown kites on the beach since we were children

Past Continuous of “fly”

  • We were flying to Los Angeles last year when the news broke about the election
  • He left school and was flying home as fast as he could to get out of the rain
  • That finch was flying towards us, but then a hawk swooped in and killed it

Past Perfect of “fly”

  • I had flown all the way to London before I realized I left the important papers at home in New York!
  • The bees had flown all the way to a neighboring county to find nectar and were lucky to find any at all.

Understanding the Verb “Fly”

Derived from Old English “flēogan,” the verb “fly” denotes the action of moving through the air, typically referring to birds, aircraft, or even certain insects. Beyond its literal meaning, “fly” can also describe moving quickly or fleeing from something.

Phrasal Verbs with “Fly”

  1. Fly by: Time passing very quickly.
    • The summer holidays always seem to fly by.
    • Can’t believe the weekend flew by so quickly.
  2. Fly into: Suddenly becoming very angry or upset.
    • He flew into a rage when he heard the news.
    • She flew into a panic when she couldn’t find her passport.
  3. Fly off the handle: To become suddenly extremely angry.
    • My boss flew off the handle when I was late for the meeting.
    • She tends to fly off the handle over minor issues.

Common Mistakes with “Fly”

  • Incorrect: The time flies so fastly.
  • Correct: Time flies so fast.
  • Incorrect: He has flied to Paris last week.
  • Correct: He flew to Paris last week.

You can check other past tense words by clicking on the links in the table below.

Table 2: Table of Links for irregular Past Tense Verbs

bendmeetcopybeat
laydrawbuyFly
DrinkThinkweardive
risedreamSpeakbite
bearbeginfreezesink
getgivetakesing
learn keepfindbe
saycatcheatcome
goknowdocut
drivefallletmake
payreadbuildbecome

We also have articles and worksheets which we will link examples of below, and if you need more you can try the search box.

Conclusion

Hopefully the past tense of fly – flew – is a little clearer now, and how to use it in English. Feel free to make use of any resources on the the site, they are made to help both teachers and students improve their English for free, or at the very least in a cost effective way!

I have been a teacher of English for over 15 years, in that time i made hundreds and thousands of resources and learnt so much i think its worth sharing. Hopefully to help teachers and parents around the world.

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