Past Tense of Build

“Build” is a verb that at first glance a learner might think isn’t so important, but then quickly discovers that it’s actually among the most useful to know.

The various definitions of ‘build’ as a verb are those referring to the act of construction, be it something concrete or something more abstract — e.g., to build a new hospital (concrete) vs. to build trust with someone (abstract).

The past tense of build is “built” and its past participle is also “built.”

What is the past tense of “build”?

Build (verb):

(1) Construct something by putting various parts of materials together

(2) To make something stronger, or perhaps more intense

• Infinitive                       to build
• Simple Past                 built
• Past Participle             built

Conjugation Table of “build”

Pronoun	Infinitive	Simple Past	Present Perfect	Present Continuous
I	build	built	have built	am building
You (sing.)	build	built	have built	are building
He/She/It	builds	built	has built	is building
We	build	built	have built	are building
You (pl.)	build	built	have built	are building
They	build	built	have built	are building

Example Sentences of “build”

(1) Construct something by putting various parts of materials together

• The government promised to build 40 new hospitals after coming to power
• That new school was built so quickly!
• These men are part of a team that is building the new skyscraper downtown

(2) To make something stronger, or perhaps more intense

• It’s critical that teachers work on building trust with their students over time
• They built their relationship on poor foundations, and that’s why it failed
• Over the years, the library built up an impressive collection of original Shakespeare works

Focus: Past Tense of Build

The above sentences show the many ways that we can use ‘build’ to talk about both concrete and abstract concepts. However, we now want to focus on how to use the various past-tense forms of the word. To that end, we have prepared some examples below that demonstrate the following ways to use ‘build’ in the past tense.

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

Simple Past of “build”

• He built the house with his own tools, and a little help from his neighbors
• Over the years, she and I have built quite a meaningful friendship
• Dreams built on foundations on sand will never come true

Present Perfect of “build”

• She has built up a tower of playing cards so high that it almost touches the ceiling
• You have built a magnificent company here, which is a real credit to the community
• Through my work, I think I have built up an immunity to that disease

Past Continuous of “build”

• We were building houses for the poor in El Salvador when the earthquake struck
• The kids were building things with Lego all morning

Past Perfect of “build”

• The workers here had already built the entire project by the time the team in San Francisco got permission to build
• You had built so many amazing working relationships with key people in this state, so how could your business fail like this?

Understanding the Verb “Build”

Derived from the Old English “byldan,” meaning “to construct,” the verb “build” has long been associated with creating structures or assembling things.

Phrasal Verbs with “Build”

“Build” too has its phrasal partners:

• Build up: To increase or accumulate.
  • The company built up its reputation over many years.
• Build on: To use as a basis for further development.
  • She built on her previous experience to start her own business.

Nuances in Usage

• “Build vs. Construct”: While synonyms, “construct” is more formal and often used in official contexts.
• They built a snowman. vs. They constructed a bridge.

Common Mistakes

Some common misconceptions to avoid:

Incorrect: They builds a massive fortress.

Correct: They built a massive fortress.

You can check other past tense words and our past tense resources by clicking on the links in the table below and in the resource list below that.

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