Confirm past tense

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Meaning of confirm

establish the truth or correctness of (something previously believed, suspected, or feared to be the case).

Infinitive

Word: confirm /kənˈfɜrm/
Examples:
  • 1. He always confirms his appointments a day in advance.
  • 2. She confirms her attendance through a quick text message.
  • 3. The system automatically confirms your reservation once you click submit.

Past Simple

Word: confirmed /kənˈfɜːmd/
Examples:
  • 1. The manager confirmed the meeting time with all employees yesterday.
  • 2. She confirmed her attendance at the wedding last week.
  • 3. They confirmed their reservation at the restaurant two days ago.

Past Participle

Word: confirmed /kənˈfɜːmd/
Examples:
  • 1. The reservation has been confirmed by the hotel manager.
  • 2. All the details were confirmed by the committee last week.
  • 3. The payment has been confirmed by the system automatically.

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Bare infinitive

  1. General To express habitual actions, fixed arrangements, general truths, and with a future time reference when discussing schedules or timetables.
    Example. 'The software always confirms the validity of the input.'
    Example. 'I confirm that your statements are accurate.'
  2. Stative To describe a mental state or perception at the present moment.
    Example. 'The software always confirms the validity of the input.'
    Example. 'I confirm that your statements are accurate.'

Past Simple

  1. Past Action To talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past.
    Example. 'She confirmed her attendance yesterday.'
    Example. 'They confirmed the reservation before the holiday season.'
  2. Completed Action When referencing actions that were finished at a certain time in the past.
    Example. 'She confirmed her attendance yesterday.'
    Example. 'They confirmed the reservation before the holiday season.'

Past Participle

  1. Perfect Tenses. Used with 'has' or 'have' to form the present perfect tense, indicating an action that has been completed at some point in the past or its effect continues to the present.
    Example. 'The meeting time was confirmed by the secretary.'
    Example. 'The details have been confirmed by the relevant department.'
  2. Example (Present Perfect). 'He has confirmed his email address.'
    Example. 'The meeting time was confirmed by the secretary.'
    Example. 'The details have been confirmed by the relevant department.'
  3. Passive Voice. When the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb.
    Example. 'The meeting time was confirmed by the secretary.'
    Example. 'The details have been confirmed by the relevant department.'
  4. Perfect Passive. Combines the Past Participle form with 'has been' or 'have been' to indicate an action that was completed in the past and has a result that is relevant to the present.
    Example. 'The meeting time was confirmed by the secretary.'
    Example. 'The details have been confirmed by the relevant department.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing 'confirmed'

A common mistake is using an incorrect form when trying to construct the past participle of 'confirm.' The correct past participle form is 'confirmed,' just like the past simple form. However, some might mistakenly use 'confirmen' or 'confirmt,' especially those learning English, due to misunderstanding regular verb conjugation patterns.

— 02

Incorrectly using 'confirmed'

In the past simple tense, 'confirmed' is correct for all subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they). A mistake would be altering the verb form to match the subject in a manner similar to the present simple tense, such as saying 'he confirm' or 'they confirms' in the past tense. The correct form is 'confirmed' regardless of the subject.

— 03

Mixing up tenses

Since 'confirm' has the same form for its past simple and past participle ('confirmed'), a common error is misusing these tenses, especially for learners who might not fully grasp the distinction between simple past and present perfect constructions. For example, saying 'I have confirmed it yesterday' instead of the correct 'I confirmed it yesterday' (past simple) or 'I have confirmed it' (present perfect). This mistake stems from not understanding when to use simple past (for completed actions at a specific time in the past) versus present perfect (for actions that have relevance to the present or are not tied to a specific time).

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'confirm'?

The past simple form of 'confirm' is 'confirmed.' It is used to describe an action that was completed in the past. For example, 'Yesterday, I confirmed the appointment with the doctor.'

What is the past participle form of 'confirm'?

The past participle form of 'confirm' is also 'confirmed.' It is used in perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. For example, in the sentence 'The news has been confirmed by several sources,' 'confirmed' is used as the past participle.

How do I use 'confirmed' in a sentence?

'Confirmed' can be used in various sentences to indicate that something was made certain or verified in the past. Here are two examples demonstrating its use in both the past simple and past participle forms. Past Simple. 'They confirmed their attendance at the seminar last week.' Past Participle. 'All details have been confirmed by the event coordinator.'

Can you give an example of 'confirmed' used in a passive voice sentence?

Yes, in a passive voice sentence, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of an action. Here's an example using 'confirmed' in the passive voice. 'The meeting time was confirmed by the manager yesterday.' In this sentence, 'the meeting time' is the subject that received the action of being confirmed, and 'by the manager' indicates who performed the action.