Babysit past tense

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Meaning of babysit

to care for children temporarily in the absence of their parents.

Infinitive

Word: babysit /ˈbeɪbɪsɪt/
Examples:
  • 1. I often babysit for my neighbors on weekends.
  • 2. She doesn't babysit very often because she has a full-time job.
  • 3. They babysit their little cousin every Friday night.

Past Simple

Word: babysat /ˈbeɪbɪsæt/
Examples:
  • 1. I babysat my neighbor's children while they were out last Friday night.
  • 2. She babysat for a family down the street throughout her high school years.
  • 3. They babysat the twins during the summer, finding creative ways to keep them entertained.

Past Participle

Word: babysat /ˈbeɪ.bi.sæt/
Examples:
  • 1. The children had been babysat by their grandmother every weekend.
  • 2. By the time we returned, the baby had already been babysat by her aunt.
  • 3. The puppies were being babysat by the neighbor when we arrived.

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Bare infinitive

  1. General Truths or Habits
    Example. She babysits on weekends to earn extra money.
    Example. She babysits tomorrow evening for the neighbors.
  2. This form is used when describing habits, routines, or facts that are generally true over time.
    Example. She babysits on weekends to earn extra money.
    Example. She babysits tomorrow evening for the neighbors.
  3. Scheduled Events in the Near Future
    Example. She babysits on weekends to earn extra money.
    Example. She babysits tomorrow evening for the neighbors.
  4. It can also describe scheduled or fixed events, especially in a timetable or a calendar.
    Example. She babysits on weekends to earn extra money.
    Example. She babysits tomorrow evening for the neighbors.

Past Simple

  1. Completed Actions in the Past
    Example. She babysat her younger brother yesterday.
    Example. Last Saturday, she babysat in the morning, did her homework in the afternoon, and went to bed early.
  2. This form is used to talk about completed actions or experiences that happened at a specific time in the past. The exact time can be mentioned or understood from the context.
    Example. She babysat her younger brother yesterday.
    Example. Last Saturday, she babysat in the morning, did her homework in the afternoon, and went to bed early.
  3. Sequences of Actions in the Past
    Example. She babysat her younger brother yesterday.
    Example. Last Saturday, she babysat in the morning, did her homework in the afternoon, and went to bed early.
  4. When narrating or listing a series of completed actions or events that happened one after another in the past.
    Example. She babysat her younger brother yesterday.
    Example. Last Saturday, she babysat in the morning, did her homework in the afternoon, and went to bed early.

Past Participle

  1. Present Perfect
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  2. To talk about experiences up to now or actions whose time is not specified. It links the past with the present.
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  3. Past Perfect
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  4. To describe an action that was completed before another action or time in the past.
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  5. Passive Voice
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  6. When the focus is on the action or the result of the action rather than who or what is performing the action.
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  7. Conditional Sentences and Modals
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.
  8. Used in the third conditional or with modal verbs to express wishes, possibilities, or hypothetical situations.
    Example. She has babysat for several families in her neighborhood.
    Example. She had already babysat her cousin before she took him to the park.
    Example. The children have been babysat by their aunt every weekend.
    Example. If she had babysat her neighbor's kids, she would have earned more money.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing forms

A common mistake occurs when learners use the past simple form 'babysat' incorrectly as the past participle. The confusion arises because for many verbs, the past simple and past participle forms are different. However, 'babysit' is an irregular verb where both the past simple and the past participle forms are the same. 'babysat.' Incorrectly using 'babysit' as the past participle can lead to grammatical errors in perfect tenses. For example, it's incorrect to say 'I have babysit them yesterday.' The correct form is 'I have babysat them.'

— 02

Wrong Past Simple Form

Another frequent error is misconstruing the past simple form of 'babysit' by adding a conventional -ed ending used for regular verbs, resulting in “babysitted” which is incorrect. Since 'babysit' is an irregular verb, it does not follow the regular pattern, and the correct past simple (and past participle) form is 'babysat.' Saying 'Yesterday, I babysitted my niece' is incorrect; it should be 'Yesterday, I babysat my niece.'

— 03

Incorrect Present Participle

Some learners mistakenly use the past participle 'babysat' when they should use the present participle 'babysitting' in continuous tenses. For example, incorrectly saying 'I was babysat when you called' instead of the correct 'I was babysitting when you called.' This mistake can alter the intended meaning, shifting the focus incorrectly from the action of babysitting to being babysat.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past tense of 'babysit'?

The past tense of 'babysit' is 'babysat'. This form is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'Last Saturday, I babysat my nephew.'

What is the past participle of 'babysit'?

The past participle of 'babysit' is also 'babysat'. It is used in perfect tenses or passive voice. For example, in the present perfect tense, you might say, 'I have babysat for the Smiths several times this year.'

How do you use 'babysat' in a sentence to describe a past action?

To use 'babysat' in a sentence to describe a past action, you typically include a time reference to specify when the action took place. For instance, 'I babysat my cousin last night.' This sentence indicates that the action of babysitting occurred in the past, specifically the previous night.

Can you give an example of a sentence using 'babysat' in the passive voice?

Yes, an example of a sentence using 'babysat' in the passive voice would be, 'The children were babysat by their aunt while their parents were out of town.' This sentence focuses on the action being received by the children, with their aunt performing the action of babysitting.