Creep past tense

Meaning of creep

to move slowly and quietly close to the ground, especially so as not to be noticed.

Infinitive

Word: creep /kriːp/

Examples:

1. Cats often creep silently toward their prey.
2. Fog tends to creep over the lake in the early morning.
3. Vines creep along the ground and up the walls of the old house.

Past Simple

Word: crept /kɹɛpt/

Examples:

1. She quietly crept into the room, hoping not to wake anyone.
2. The shadows crept across the walls as the sun set.
3. He crept up behind her and surprised her with a gentle tap on the shoulder.

Past Participle

Word: crept /krɛpt/

Examples:

1. The shadows had crept across the lawn by the time the party ended.
2. The rumor was quickly crept through the small town, leaving no one untouched.
3. By midnight, a sense of unease had crept into everyone's hearts as they waited.

Learn more words on the go

Master verb forms with Promova!

Download the app

Bare infinitive

Habitual actions. When describing actions that happen regularly or habits.
Example. 'She always creeps into the room quietly.'
Example. 'Darkness creeps over the city as night falls.'
Example. 'The exhibition creeps up on us; it's starting next Tuesday.'
Example. 'Then the cat creeps closer, its eyes locked on the mouse.'
General truths or facts. When stating facts or general truths.
Example. 'She always creeps into the room quietly.'
Example. 'Darkness creeps over the city as night falls.'
Example. 'The exhibition creeps up on us; it's starting next Tuesday.'
Example. 'Then the cat creeps closer, its eyes locked on the mouse.'
Fixed arrangements in the near future (usually with a time expression). When talking about scheduled events in the near future.
Example. 'She always creeps into the room quietly.'
Example. 'Darkness creeps over the city as night falls.'
Example. 'The exhibition creeps up on us; it's starting next Tuesday.'
Example. 'Then the cat creeps closer, its eyes locked on the mouse.'
Narrative present. When telling stories to make them sound more immediate.
Example. 'She always creeps into the room quietly.'
Example. 'Darkness creeps over the city as night falls.'
Example. 'The exhibition creeps up on us; it's starting next Tuesday.'
Example. 'Then the cat creeps closer, its eyes locked on the mouse.'

Past Simple

Completed actions in the past. When talking about actions that took place and were completed at a specific time in the past.
Example. 'He crept into the house late last night.'
Example. 'She crept out of bed, then walked to the kitchen.'
Example. 'As a child, I often crept into my parents' room during thunderstorms.'
Example. 'Fear crept into their hearts as the storm approached.'
Sequential past actions. When narrating events that occurred one after another in the past.
Example. 'He crept into the house late last night.'
Example. 'She crept out of bed, then walked to the kitchen.'
Example. 'As a child, I often crept into my parents' room during thunderstorms.'
Example. 'Fear crept into their hearts as the storm approached.'
Past habits. When describing habits or states that were true in the past but not anymore.
Example. 'He crept into the house late last night.'
Example. 'She crept out of bed, then walked to the kitchen.'
Example. 'As a child, I often crept into my parents' room during thunderstorms.'
Example. 'Fear crept into their hearts as the storm approached.'
Past states of being. When referring to a state or situation in the past.
Example. 'He crept into the house late last night.'
Example. 'She crept out of bed, then walked to the kitchen.'
Example. 'As a child, I often crept into my parents' room during thunderstorms.'
Example. 'Fear crept into their hearts as the storm approached.'

Past Participle

Present perfect tense. When discussing actions that occurred at an unspecified time before now or actions that have relevance to the present moment.
Example. 'I have never crept into a forbidden place.'
Example. 'She had already crept out of the room when he woke up.'
Example. 'By the time you notice, the cat will have crept outside.'
Example. 'The secrets have been crept around by spies.'
Example. 'The crept vines covered the old wall, giving it an eerie look.'
Past perfect tense. When discussing actions that were completed before another action or time in the past.
Example. 'I have never crept into a forbidden place.'
Example. 'She had already crept out of the room when he woke up.'
Example. 'By the time you notice, the cat will have crept outside.'
Example. 'The secrets have been crept around by spies.'
Example. 'The crept vines covered the old wall, giving it an eerie look.'
Future perfect tense. When discussing actions that will be completed before another action or time in the future.
Example. 'I have never crept into a forbidden place.'
Example. 'She had already crept out of the room when he woke up.'
Example. 'By the time you notice, the cat will have crept outside.'
Example. 'The secrets have been crept around by spies.'
Example. 'The crept vines covered the old wall, giving it an eerie look.'
Passive voice. When the subject is the recipient of the action rather than the doer.
Example. 'I have never crept into a forbidden place.'
Example. 'She had already crept out of the room when he woke up.'
Example. 'By the time you notice, the cat will have crept outside.'
Example. 'The secrets have been crept around by spies.'
Example. 'The crept vines covered the old wall, giving it an eerie look.'
Adjectival use. When used as an adjective in a participial phrase to describe a noun.
Example. 'I have never crept into a forbidden place.'
Example. 'She had already crept out of the room when he woke up.'
Example. 'By the time you notice, the cat will have crept outside.'
Example. 'The secrets have been crept around by spies.'
Example. 'The crept vines covered the old wall, giving it an eerie look.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Incorrect Regularization of the Verb

One common mistake with the verb 'creep' is treating it as a regular verb when it is irregular. The past simple and past participle forms of 'creep' are both 'crept,' not 'creeped.' People often mistakenly apply the regular verb ending '-ed' to form 'creeped' instead of using the correct irregular forms. For example, they might incorrectly say, 'She creeped quietly into the room,' instead of the correct 'She crept quietly into the room.'

— 02

Confusing forms

Another mistake is confusing the past simple form with the past participle form of 'creep.' Since both forms are 'crept,' some learners might mistakenly believe that there should be a different form for each or use the wrong form in perfect tenses. For instance, they might incorrectly construct a sentence like, 'I have creep into the house last night,' instead of the correct, 'I have crept into the house last night.' Understanding that 'crept' serves as both the past simple and past participle form is crucial.

— 03

Misuse in Perfect Tenses

A further mistake involves the misuse of 'crept' in perfect tenses, particularly due to confusion over its past participle status. Learners might forget to use 'have' or 'had' with 'crept' in perfect constructions, leading to sentences like, 'She crept the stairs quietly last night' instead of the correct, 'She has crept up the stairs quietly last night.' This mistake disrupts the intended meaning and the grammatical correctness of the sentence.

Past tense quiz

Check your skills and find areas for improvement

Take quiz

Frequently asked questions

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

The past simple form of 'creep' is 'crept,' and the past participle form is also 'crept.' Both forms are used to indicate actions in the past, but they are applied in different grammatical structures.

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

The past simple form 'crept' is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. It doesn't matter how long the action took but it has finished. For example. 'Last night, I crept into the house quietly to avoid waking anyone.' In this sentence, 'crept' indicates a single, completed action that occurred last night.

How is the past participle form 'crept' used, especially in perfect tenses?

The past participle 'crept' is used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses, which indicate actions that have been completed at the time of speaking or by a specific point in the past or future. Examples include. Present Perfect. 'I have crept through the garden without being noticed.' Past Perfect. 'By the time they realized, I had already crept away.' Future Perfect. 'By tomorrow, she will have crept into the castle unnoticed.'In each case, 'crept' combines with an auxiliary verb ('have,' 'had,' 'will have') to indicate a completed action in relation to another point in time.

Can you give an example of a common mistake made with 'creep,' 'crept,' and 'crept'?

A common mistake is using 'creeped' as the past simple or past participle form instead of 'crept.' The correct forms are 'crept' for both. Incorrect and correct usage is shown below. Incorrect. 'She creeped quietly through the hallway.' Correct. 'She crept quietly through the hallway.' Remember, 'creeped' is not a standard past or past participle form of 'creep,' and 'crept' should be used for both instances to maintain grammatical accuracy.