Assist past tense

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Meaning of assist

to help or support someone in achieving something.

Infinitive

Word: assist /əˈsɪst/
Examples:
  • 1. She always assists her colleagues with their projects.
  • 2. He assists in organizing community events every month.
  • 3. Our organization assists people in need by providing free meals.

Past Simple

Word: assisted /əˈsɪstɪd/
Examples:
  • 1. He assisted me with my homework yesterday.
  • 2. They assisted in organizing the event last month.
  • 3. She assisted the new employee with the orientation process last week.

Past Participle

Word: assisted /əˈsɪs.tɪd/
Examples:
  • 1. She has assisted in organizing the charity event every year.
  • 2. We had assisted him with his homework before going out.
  • 3. The team has already assisted in cleaning up the park.

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Bare infinitive

  1. General truths or facts.
    Example. Nurses assist doctors in numerous medical procedures.
    Example. She assists her team with the weekly reports every Monday.
    Example. The new intern assists with the project starting next week.
  2. Habits or routines.
    Example. Nurses assist doctors in numerous medical procedures.
    Example. She assists her team with the weekly reports every Monday.
    Example. The new intern assists with the project starting next week.
  3. Fixed arrangements in the near future (often with a future time expression).
    Example. Nurses assist doctors in numerous medical procedures.
    Example. She assists her team with the weekly reports every Monday.
    Example. The new intern assists with the project starting next week.

Past Simple

  1. Completed actions in the past at a specific time.
    Example. The volunteer assisted the charity event last Saturday.
    Example. He met the team, assisted them with their project, and left the office early.
    Example. When she was at university, she assisted her professor with research.
    Example. In the past, community members assisted each other more frequently.
  2. A series of completed actions in the past.
    Example. The volunteer assisted the charity event last Saturday.
    Example. He met the team, assisted them with their project, and left the office early.
    Example. When she was at university, she assisted her professor with research.
    Example. In the past, community members assisted each other more frequently.
  3. Habits or routines in the past (often used with time expressions like when I was a child, in 1990, etc.).
    Example. The volunteer assisted the charity event last Saturday.
    Example. He met the team, assisted them with their project, and left the office early.
    Example. When she was at university, she assisted her professor with research.
    Example. In the past, community members assisted each other more frequently.
  4. Past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.
    Example. The volunteer assisted the charity event last Saturday.
    Example. He met the team, assisted them with their project, and left the office early.
    Example. When she was at university, she assisted her professor with research.
    Example. In the past, community members assisted each other more frequently.

Past Participle

  1. Perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect).
    Example. Present Perfect. She has assisted with the project since its inception.
    Example. Past Perfect. By the time the meeting started, he had already assisted the team with the preliminaries.
    Example. Future Perfect. By next year, they will have assisted dozens of clients.
    Example. The injured were assisted by first responders at the scene.
    Example. The assisted living facility offers various services to its residents.
  2. Passive voice (form of 'to be' + Past Participle).
    Example. Present Perfect. She has assisted with the project since its inception.
    Example. Past Perfect. By the time the meeting started, he had already assisted the team with the preliminaries.
    Example. Future Perfect. By next year, they will have assisted dozens of clients.
    Example. The injured were assisted by first responders at the scene.
    Example. The assisted living facility offers various services to its residents.
  3. As adjectives in certain expressions.
    Example. Present Perfect. She has assisted with the project since its inception.
    Example. Past Perfect. By the time the meeting started, he had already assisted the team with the preliminaries.
    Example. Future Perfect. By next year, they will have assisted dozens of clients.
    Example. The injured were assisted by first responders at the scene.
    Example. The assisted living facility offers various services to its residents.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing Forms

A common mistake is misapplying the rule for forming the past simple and past participle of regular verbs (adding -ed) to irregular verbs. 'Assist' is a regular verb, so its past simple and past participle forms are correctly made by adding -ed (assisted). However, learners often mistakenly apply this rule to irregular verbs, leading to errors. For example, saying 'finded' instead of 'found' (for the verb 'find') is a mistake stemming from this confusion. It's crucial to remember that irregular verbs do not follow the -ed rule, and their past forms must be memorized.

— 02

Incorrect Past Participle

Another common error is using the simple past form instead of the past participle in perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect). The correct construction for perfect tenses involves the auxiliary verb 'have' plus the past participle of the main verb. For 'assist,' the mistake would be saying 'I have assisted' when correctly it should be 'I have assisted' for the present perfect tense. This mistake alters the tense and meaning of the sentence, leading to confusion.

— 03

Misuse in Passive Voice

The past participle is also essential in forming passive voice sentences, where the subject is the recipient of the action. A common mistake is using the simple past instead of the past participle with the auxiliary verb 'to be.' The correct form for 'assist' in the passive voice would be 'was/were assisted' in the past tense. Incorrectly using 'was assisted' instead of 'was assisted' disrupts the grammatical structure and clarity of the sentence.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'assist'?

The past simple form of 'assist' is 'assisted.' It is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'She assisted the team with their project last week.'

What is the past participle form of 'assist'?

The past participle form of 'assist' is also 'assisted.' It is used in perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. For example, 'The team has been assisted by a group of experts.'

How do I use 'assisted' in a sentence to show a completed action in the past?

To show a completed action, you can use 'assisted' in the simple past tense or in the perfect tenses. For the simple past, you might say, 'They assisted in organizing the event yesterday.' For a perfect tense, expressing an action that has been completed at some point in the past up until now, you could say, 'They have assisted in organizing events since 2010.'

Can you give an example of 'assisted' used in the passive voice?

Certainly! In the passive voice, 'assisted' can be used to emphasize the action or the recipient rather than who performed the action. For example, 'The local charity was assisted by the community during the fundraiser.' This sentence highlights the fact that the charity received help, without focusing on who provided that help.