What is The Past Tense of Read

“Read” is an interesting verb in English, not just because it is so useful and so widely used, but because of how it changes in different tenses.

On the surface, “read” looks similar to words like ‘let’ and ‘cut’ which don’t change their spellings when put into the past tense or when changed into the past participle. However, the difference with “read” is that its pronunciation does change.

The past tense of “read” is “read” which is pronounced the same as ‘red’. Its past participle is the same, ‘read’.

What is the past tense of “read”?

Read (verb):

(1) To regard and comprehend the meaning of written or printed words on a page; interpret written material to gain comprehension of a given message

(2) To discover information through reading it in written material; to study an academic subject (especially at university level)

• Infinitive                     to read
• Simple Past                 read
• Past Participle             read

Conjugation Table of “read”

Pronoun	Infinitive	Simple Past	Present Perfect	Present Continuous
I	read	read	have read	am reading
You (sing.)	read	read	have read	are reading
He/She/It	reads	read	has read	is reading
We	read	read	have read	are reading
You (pl.)	read	read	have read	are reading
They	read	read	have read	are reading

Example Sentences of “read”

(1) To regard and comprehend the meaning of written or printed words on a page; interpret written material to gain comprehension of a given message

• I try to read a book each week, but it’s hard to maintain the habit
• We read your article and we feel it is an excellent fit for our publication
• You’ve read every book she’s ever written, so wouldn’t you like to meet her in person

(2) To discover information through reading it in written material; to study an academic subject (especially at university level)

• I read about your accident in the newspaper
• He and I read law at Harvard together, but it was many years ago
• They know about this because they read it on a sign

Focus: Past Tense of Read of “read”

For writing, using “read” in the past tense is therefore quite straightforward since the spelling hardly has to change between different people and tenses.

However, for speaking purposes, it’s important to know which is which, and that also requires some additional reading skill to get the right context and pronounce the word correctly. Below we will show some examples of “read” in these past-tense forms:

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

Simple Past of “read”

• He read the book cover to cover and loved it
• I read the textbook notes but I still can’t understand this concept. Can you explain it again?
• We all read your letter of resignation, and we have decided reluctantly to accept it

Present Perfect of “read”

• You have read his latest article, haven’t you? It’s amazing!
• I have read his other works and enjoyed them, so I’ll try this one, too
• They have read the article so now it’s time to tackle the questions together

Past Continuous of “read”

• I was reading the newspaper when I heard the kids fighting upstairs
• He was reading the subway map when someone came over to ask if he needed help

Past Perfect of “read”

• If you had read that book when you were younger, do you think your life could have been different?
• If I hadn’t read Philosophy at Cambridge, I’d have read something else, like law

Understanding the Verb “Read”

Derived from the Old English “rǣdan,” which means “to advise, interpret, read,” this verb has always been associated with comprehending written content. The unique thing about “read” is that its past tense form is written the same way as the present, though pronounced differently.

Phrasal Verbs with “Read”

“Read” contributes to various phrasal verbs, each adding a layer of meaning:

• Read up on: To gather information about something by reading.
  • She read up on Roman history before her trip to Italy.
• Read out: To read something aloud.
  • Can you read out the instructions for everyone?

Nuances in Usage

• “Read vs. Study”: While both involve looking at text, “study” implies a deeper, more concentrated effort.
  • He read the magazine while waiting. vs. He studied for his physics test.

Common Mistakes

Watch out for these potential errors:

Incorrect: She readed the book last night.

Correct: She read the book last night (pronounced ‘red’).

We also have a full list of irregular verbs from A – Z on the site which you can access from the link here.

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