Belong past tense
Meaning of belong
to be a member of a group, organization, or set.
Infinitive
- 1. My grandmother's antique vase belongs on the mantlepiece, where everyone can see it.
- 2. This book belongs to the local library; it's due back next week.
- 3. Cats inherently feel they belong in the warmest, coziest spot in the house.
Past Simple
- 1. The antique vase belonged to my grandmother before it was passed down to me.
- 2. They belonged to a book club that met every Thursday night.
- 3. The lost puppy belonged to the neighbors, and we returned it yesterday.
Past Participle
- 1. The ancient artifact has always belonged to the museum.
- 2. The lost puppy was finally believed to have belonged to the family down the street.
- 3. The secret recipe has belonged to the family for generations.
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Bare infinitive
- General Truths or Facts. When stating something that is generally true or a fact.Example. Cats belong to the feline family.Example. He belongs to a book club that meets every Friday.Example. They belong together.Example. The meeting belongs on the agenda for next week.
- Habits or Routines. For habits or things that happen regularly.Example. Cats belong to the feline family.Example. He belongs to a book club that meets every Friday.Example. They belong together.Example. The meeting belongs on the agenda for next week.
- Permanent States. To describe a state that is seen as permanent or not likely to change.Example. Cats belong to the feline family.Example. He belongs to a book club that meets every Friday.Example. They belong together.Example. The meeting belongs on the agenda for next week.
- Scheduled Events (in the near future, often used with timetables or schedules).Example. Cats belong to the feline family.Example. He belongs to a book club that meets every Friday.Example. They belong together.Example. The meeting belongs on the agenda for next week.
Past Simple
- Completed Actions in the Past. When speaking about an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past.Example. She belonged to the tennis club last year.Example. We belonged to that community when we lived in the city.Example. First, they belonged to a local choir, then they moved and lost interest.
- Past States. To indicate a state or condition in the past that is no longer true.Example. She belonged to the tennis club last year.Example. We belonged to that community when we lived in the city.Example. First, they belonged to a local choir, then they moved and lost interest.
- Sequences of Actions in the Past. Describing a series of completed actions or events that happened one after another.Example. She belonged to the tennis club last year.Example. We belonged to that community when we lived in the city.Example. First, they belonged to a local choir, then they moved and lost interest.
Past Participle
- Perfect Tenses.Example. She has always belonged to a choir.Example. He had belonged to the organization for years before it disbanded.Example. By next year, they will have belonged to the club for a decade.Example. A solution is believed to have belonged to the earlier centuries.
- Present Perfect. For actions that happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.Example. She has always belonged to a choir.Example. He had belonged to the organization for years before it disbanded.Example. By next year, they will have belonged to the club for a decade.Example. A solution is believed to have belonged to the earlier centuries.
- Past Perfect. Used to express something that happened before another action or time in the past.Example. She has always belonged to a choir.Example. He had belonged to the organization for years before it disbanded.Example. By next year, they will have belonged to the club for a decade.Example. A solution is believed to have belonged to the earlier centuries.
- Future Perfect. Indicates that an action will have been completed by a certain future time.Example. She has always belonged to a choir.Example. He had belonged to the organization for years before it disbanded.Example. By next year, they will have belonged to the club for a decade.Example. A solution is believed to have belonged to the earlier centuries.
- Passive Voice. When the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb.Example. She has always belonged to a choir.Example. He had belonged to the organization for years before it disbanded.Example. By next year, they will have belonged to the club for a decade.Example. A solution is believed to have belonged to the earlier centuries.
Common mistakes
— 01
Regular Verb Treatment
One common mistake is treating 'belong' as a regular verb by adding -ed to form its past simple and past participle. 'Belong' is an irregular verb, but it is also a tricky case because it doesn't change forms for the past simple or past participle; it is actually an intransitive verb that does not have a direct object and doesn't describe an action that happens in the past. The confusion often arises because many verbs in English follow the regular pattern of adding -ed for their past forms, leading learners to incorrectly create forms like 'belonged' to mean something in the past. In reality, when talking about possession in the past, auxiliary verbs and constructions like 'used to' or 'was/were' + 'in possession of' are used instead.
— 02
Misuse in Passive Voice
Another mistake is trying to use 'belong' in passive voice constructions for past actions. Since 'belong' does not have a past participle form due to its intransitive nature, it cannot be used in passive voice structures that typically require the past participle. Learners might incorrectly form sentences like 'The book was belonged to me,' instead of correctly saying, 'The book belonged to me,' or more appropriately, 'The book was mine.'
— 03
Confusion with Other Verbs
Lastly, learners might confuse 'belong' with verbs that do change in the past tense, such as 'bring' and 'brought' or 'buy' and 'bought.' This confusion can lead to the incorrect application of past tense rules to 'belong,' creating non-existent forms. Understanding that 'belong' remains the same and does not convey action but a state or condition is crucial to avoiding this mistake.
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