Care past tense

Meaning of care

feel concern or interest; attach importance to something.

Infinitive

Word: care /keər/

Examples:

1. She always cares about her friends' well-being.
2. He cares for stray animals in his neighborhood.
3. They care deeply about environmental issues.

Past Simple

Word: cared /keərd/

Examples:

1. She cared deeply for her elderly neighbor, often visiting and helping with chores.
2. Last year, I cared for my sick cat, giving her medication every day until she recovered.
3. They cared about the environmental issues in their community and organized a cleanup event.

Past Participle

Word: cared /kɛərd/

Examples:

1. The garden has been carefully cared for by the community.
2. All the patients in the ward had been cared for by the end of the nurse's shift.
3. Broken toys are often cared for and mended by skilled craftspeople.

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Bare infinitive

Habitual actions or routines
Example. I care for my plants every morning.
Example. She cares about environmental issues deeply.
General truths or facts
Example. I care for my plants every morning.
Example. She cares about environmental issues deeply.

Past Simple

Actions completed at a specific time in the past
Example. They cared for their grandmother all summer last year.
Example. He cared for the cat, then headed out for his appointment yesterday.
Example. I wished I cared more about my studies back in high school.
A sequence of actions completed in the past
Example. They cared for their grandmother all summer last year.
Example. He cared for the cat, then headed out for his appointment yesterday.
Example. I wished I cared more about my studies back in high school.
With 'wish' to express a regret, or that you want things to be different
Example. They cared for their grandmother all summer last year.
Example. He cared for the cat, then headed out for his appointment yesterday.
Example. I wished I cared more about my studies back in high school.

Past Participle

Perfect aspects (Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect) to show actions at unspecified times or that happened in the past and still affect the present
Example. Present Perfect. She has cared for over twenty foster dogs this year.
Example. Past Perfect. By the time they arrived, he had cared for all the wounded.
Example. Future Perfect. By next month, we will have cared for each of these issues.
Example. The community garden has been cared for by volunteers for over a decade.
Passive voice to indicate that an action was done to the subject by someone else
Example. Present Perfect. She has cared for over twenty foster dogs this year.
Example. Past Perfect. By the time they arrived, he had cared for all the wounded.
Example. Future Perfect. By next month, we will have cared for each of these issues.
Example. The community garden has been cared for by volunteers for over a decade.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing Forms

A common mistake with the verb 'care' involves confusing its simple past form with its past participle form. The simple past form of 'care' is 'cared,' which is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'I cared for my grandmother last year.' The past participle form, also 'cared,' is used in perfect tenses and passive voice, requiring auxiliary verbs like 'have' or 'had.' An example of correct usage in the perfect tense is, 'I have always cared for my pets.' Mistakes occur when learners use the past participle form without an auxiliary verb or mix up the forms’ applications in sentences.

— 02

Incorrect Past Tense

. Another mistake is attempting to conjugate 'care' as if it were an irregular verb. Some learners might mistakenly transform 'care' into an incorrect past form by adding irregular endings, such as 'core' or 'cared,' mimicking patterns of irregular verbs like 'drive' (drove/driven) or 'write' (wrote/written). However, 'care' is a regular verb, and its past forms should consistently end in '-ed' for both the simple past and past participle.

— 03

Omitting 'Care' in Compound Tenses

A subtle but common error involves omitting 'care' when forming compound tenses, especially in conversational English. In trying to convey a past action, learners might say, 'I have always for my pets,' leaving out 'cared.' This mistake can lead to confusion and makes the sentence grammatically incorrect. It's crucial to include 'cared' after the auxiliary verb to maintain the sentence's clarity and correctness.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the past simple and past participle forms of 'care'?

The past simple form of 'care' is 'cared.' Similarly, the past participle form is also 'cared.' Both forms are used to indicate actions or states in the past, but they are used in different grammatical structures.

How do I use the past simple form 'cared' in a sentence?

The past simple form 'cared' is used to describe actions that were completed in the past. It doesn't matter when the action happened; the only important aspect is that it is not happening now. For example, you might say, 'I cared for my grandmother when she was ill last year.' This sentence indicates that the action of caring happened in the past and is now complete.

How is the past participle 'cared' used in sentences?

The past participle 'cared' is often used in perfect tense constructions or passive voice. In perfect tenses, it is used with auxiliary verbs 'have' or 'has' to show actions that have been completed at some point in the past. For instance, 'I have always cared deeply about environmental issues.' In passive voice constructions, it might be used to describe an action done to the subject, but it's less common with the verb 'care' since it's not typically used in a passive structure due to its intransitive nature.

Can you give an example of a sentence using 'cared' in both the past simple and past participle forms?

Sure! When using both forms in different parts of a conversation or text, you might encounter the following. Past Simple Usage. 'Last year, I cared for a stray kitten until it was healthy again.' Past Participle Usage in Perfect Tense. 'By that time, I had already cared for several lost animals, so I knew what to do.' These examples show how 'cared' can be used to indicate past actions, either as a completed action in the past simple or as an action that has relevance to the present or was completed at an unspecified time before now in the past participle form.