Bury past tense

Meaning of bury

to place (a dead body) in the earth, a tomb, or the sea, typically with funeral rites.

Infinitive

Word: bury /ˈbɛri/

Examples:

1. Every year, they bury time capsules in their school yard as a tradition.
2. She always buries her valuables in a safe place before going on vacation.
3. The gardener buries the seeds deep in the soil to ensure their growth.

Past Simple

Word: buried /ˈberid/

Examples:

1. They buried the time capsule in the backyard ten years ago.
2. The villagers quickly buried the treasure to keep it hidden from the invaders.
3. After the ceremony, we buried the beloved family pet beneath her favorite tree in the garden.

Past Participle

Word: buried /ˈbɛriːd/

Examples:

1. The treasure was buried deep beneath the ocean floor.
2. The old family secrets have been buried for decades.
3. My childhood keepsakes were buried in the backyard by my brother.

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Bare infinitive

To describe a routine, habit, or general truth.
Example. 'I always bury my toes in the sand when I go to the beach.'

Past Simple

To describe an action completed at a specific time in the past.
Example. 'He buried the time capsule in his backyard last year.'
Example. 'They dug a hole, buried the chest, and marked the spot with a large stone.'
To narrate a sequence of events or actions that happened in the past.
Example. 'He buried the time capsule in his backyard last year.'
Example. 'They dug a hole, buried the chest, and marked the spot with a large stone.'

Past Participle

To form the perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) indicating an action that was completed at some point in the past or will be completed before a specific point in the future.
Example. Present Perfect. 'We have buried all the evidence.'
Example. Past Perfect. 'By the time the detective arrived, the evidence had already been buried.'
Example. Future Perfect. 'They will have buried the time capsule before the ceremony begins.'
Example. Passive Voice. 'The treasure was buried on the deserted island centuries ago.'
To be used in passive voice constructions.
Example. Present Perfect. 'We have buried all the evidence.'
Example. Past Perfect. 'By the time the detective arrived, the evidence had already been buried.'
Example. Future Perfect. 'They will have buried the time capsule before the ceremony begins.'
Example. Passive Voice. 'The treasure was buried on the deserted island centuries ago.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Form for Regular Verbs

A common mistake with the word 'bury' is using the wrong forms for its past simple and past participle. Being a regular verb, 'bury' follows a predictable pattern by adding -ed for both its past simple and past participle forms, becoming 'buried' in both cases. However, learners often mistakenly treat 'bury' as an irregular verb, leading to incorrect forms. For example, saying 'buried' correctly for the past simple but incorrectly using a non-standard form like 'burrowed' or 'bore' for the past participle, when 'buried' should be used in both scenarios.

— 02

Misuse in Perfect Tenses

Another common mistake is the misuse of 'bury' in perfect tenses. Since the past participle form is used in perfect tenses (have/has/had buried), learners sometimes mistakenly use the past simple 'buried' as if it were the base form, leading to incorrect sentences. For instance, saying 'I have buried it yesterday' instead of the correct 'I buried it yesterday' for past simple, or 'I had bury it before you came' instead of the correct 'I had buried it before you came' for past perfect.

— 03

Active and Passive Voice

The third mistake involves confusing the active and passive voice, especially with the past participle form. In passive constructions, 'buried' should be used with a form of 'to be' to indicate that the subject was acted upon. A common error is using the active voice incorrectly when the passive is needed, or vice versa. For example, saying 'The treasure was bury in the island' instead of the correct passive form 'The treasure was buried on the island,' or using the passive incorrectly in an active sentence like 'They were buried the treasure' instead of the correct 'They buried the treasure.'

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'bury'?

The past simple form of 'bury' is 'buried.' This form is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'They buried the time capsule ten years ago.'

How is the past participle form of 'bury' used?

The past participle form of 'bury' is also 'buried.' It is used in perfect tense constructions to describe actions that have been completed at some point in the past. It is also used in passive voice sentences. For example, 'The treasure has been buried for centuries,' or 'The dog was buried in the backyard by its owners.'

Can you give an example of a sentence using 'bury' in the past simple tense?

Certainly! An example of a sentence using 'bury' in the past simple tense is. 'Last summer, we buried our pet fish in the garden after it died.'

How do I know when to use the past simple vs. the past participle form of 'bury'?

The choice between past simple and past participle forms depends on the structure of the sentence and the intended meaning. Use the past simple form 'buried' when you are talking about a completed action that occurred at a specific time in the past. For example, 'They buried the treasure on the island yesterday.' Use the past participle form 'buried' when forming the perfect tenses or passive voice sentences. In perfect tenses, it often appears with auxiliary verbs like 'has,' 'have,' or 'had' to indicate actions that were completed at some point before now. For example, 'They have already buried the treasure.' In passive voice sentences, it describes an action done to the subject, often with 'was' or 'been.' For example, 'The treasure was buried deep underground.'