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”

Pronoun	Infinitive	Simple Past	Present Perfect	Present Continuous
I	fly	flew	have flown	am flying
You (sing.)	fly	flew	have flown	are flying
He/She/It	flies	flew	has flown	is flying
We	fly	flew	have flown	are flying
You (pl.)	fly	flew	have flown	are flying
They	fly	flew	have flown	are 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

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

bend	meet	copy	beat
lay	draw	buy	Fly
Drink	Think	wear	dive
rise	dream	Speak	bite
bear	begin	freeze	sink
get	give	take	sing
learn	keep	find	be
say	catch	eat	come
go	know	do	cut
drive	fall	let	make
pay	read	build	become

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

• Free Simple Past Tense Worksheets
• irregular verb list
• Simple Present Tense Worksheets
• Regular and irregular past tense worksheets
• Free online past tense games.
• Present perfect tense worksheets
• Simple Future tense worksheets
• Simple Past tense ‘ed’ ending rules and handouts

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!