Backslide past tense
Meaning of backslide
revert to a worse condition; relapse in behavior or belief.
Infinitive
- 1. He often backslides from his commitment to quit smoking whenever he is under a lot of stress.
- 2. If you don't stay focused on your goals, it's easy to backslide into old habits.
- 3. Many people backslide in their fitness routines during the holiday season due to busy schedules and numerous temptations.
Past Simple
- 1. After two years of solid progress, she backslid into her old habits during the holidays.
- 2. Despite his resolve to stay on track, he backslid and missed a week of gym sessions.
- 3. The team's performance backslid dramatically after their star player was injured.
Past Participle
- 1. The progress we had made was backslid by numerous unforeseen obstacles.
- 2. The committee's resolve has been greatly backslid by recent controversies.
- 3. After years of improvement, the project's standards had been backslid by complacency.
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Bare infinitive
- Habitual Actions.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When describing actions that happen regularly or habits.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- General Truths.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When stating facts or general truths.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- Scheduled Events (in the near future).Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When talking about scheduled events in the near future (less common with 'backslide').Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- Instructions or Directions.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When giving instructions or directions.Example. He often backslides into bad habits when stressed.Example. Human nature inevitably backslides without constant vigilance.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
Past Simple
- Completed Actions.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When talking about actions that were completed at a specific time in the past.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- A Series of Completed Actions.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When narrating a series of events or actions in the past.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- Habits in the Past.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When talking about habits or states of being that were true in the past.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- Past Facts or Generalizations.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
- When making generalizations or stating facts about the past.Example. He backslid into his old ways last year but has been improving since then.Example. She backslid several times before finally committing to her goals.Example. When he was younger, he often backslid despite his best intentions.Example. Not typically used with 'backslide' in this context.
Past Participle
- Perfect Tenses.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
- Present Perfect. For actions that happened at an unspecified time before now or actions that started in the past and continue to the present.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
- Past Perfect. For actions that were completed before another action or time in the past.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
- Future Perfect. For actions that will be completed before a specific time in the future.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
- Passive Voice.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
- When the subject of the sentence is acted upon.Example. They have often backslid from their commitments.Example. By the time she realized, he had already backslid.Example. They will have backslid by the end of the month if we don’t intervene.Example. The policies were backslid on, leading to public outcry.
Common mistakes
— 01
Verb Form Usage
A common mistake in using the past simple and past participle forms of 'backslide' is using incorrect verb forms due to misunderstanding its irregular nature. The past simple form is 'backslid' and the past participle is also 'backslid,' not 'backslided' or 'backslidden.' For example, the correct usage is 'He backslid from his diet plan,' not 'He backslided from his diet plan.'
— 02
Misapplying Past Participle
Another mistake is using the past participle form without an auxiliary verb when forming perfect tenses. The past participle 'backslid' should be used with an auxiliary verb like 'have' or 'had' to form perfect tenses. A common error is saying 'I backslid my duties' instead of the correct 'I have backslid from my duties.' This mistake alters the intended meaning and grammatical correctness of the sentence.
— 03
Regular Verb Patterns
Learners often mistakenly apply regular verb Misusing Past Participle to 'backslide,' leading to errors. Since 'backslide' is an irregular verb, it does not follow the regular -ed ending pattern for its past simple and past participle forms. A frequent error is treating it as a regular verb and saying 'backslided' instead of 'backslid.' Understanding that 'backslide' is irregular and memorizing its correct forms can help avoid this mistake.
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