Hit past tense

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Meaning of hit

to strike or come into contact with forcefully.

Infinitive

Word: hit /hɪt/
Examples:
  • 1. She hits the snooze button at least three times every morning.
  • 2. The baseball player regularly hits home runs during the games.
  • 3. He always hits the gym after work to stay in shape.

Past Simple

Word: hit /hɪt/
Examples:
  • 1. The baseball player hit the ball so hard that it flew right out of the stadium.
  • 2. After several failed attempts, she finally hit the target with her arrow.
  • 3. The new policy hit the community harder than expected, causing widespread concern.

Past Participle

Word: hit /hɪt/
Examples:
  • 1. The ball was hit by the player with great force.
  • 2. The window has been hit by a stray bird.
  • 3. My car was hit in the parking lot.

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Bare infinitive

  1. To describe a habit or a general truth.
    Example. 'He hits the gym every morning.'
    Example. 'My favorite team hits the field this Sunday.'
    Example. 'This boxer hits harder than anyone else in the league.'
  2. To talk about scheduled events in the near future, especially in sports or formal timetables.
    Example. 'He hits the gym every morning.'
    Example. 'My favorite team hits the field this Sunday.'
    Example. 'This boxer hits harder than anyone else in the league.'
  3. To express a fact or something that is generally true.
    Example. 'He hits the gym every morning.'
    Example. 'My favorite team hits the field this Sunday.'
    Example. 'This boxer hits harder than anyone else in the league.'

Past Simple

  1. To describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past.
    Example. 'She hit the ball perfectly during yesterday’s game.'
    Example. 'When we were kids, he accidentally hit me with his bike.'
    Example. 'Back in the day, she hit the library every night before exams.'
  2. To narrate a story or a sequence of events that happened in the past.
    Example. 'She hit the ball perfectly during yesterday’s game.'
    Example. 'When we were kids, he accidentally hit me with his bike.'
    Example. 'Back in the day, she hit the library every night before exams.'
  3. To express a past habit or state, often coupled with expressions like 'often,' 'always,' or 'when'.
    Example. 'She hit the ball perfectly during yesterday’s game.'
    Example. 'When we were kids, he accidentally hit me with his bike.'
    Example. 'Back in the day, she hit the library every night before exams.'

Past Participle

  1. To form the perfect tenses, relating past actions to the present or talking about the duration of an action.
    Example. 'They have hit their sales targets every month this year.'
    Example. 'The window was hit by a stray ball during the match.'
    Example. 'If he had hit the brakes a second later, he might have missed the deer.'
  2. In passive voice sentences, especially when describing an action done to the subject.
    Example. 'They have hit their sales targets every month this year.'
    Example. 'The window was hit by a stray ball during the match.'
    Example. 'If he had hit the brakes a second later, he might have missed the deer.'
  3. To express a condition or a hypothetical situation in combination with modal verbs.
    Example. 'They have hit their sales targets every month this year.'
    Example. 'The window was hit by a stray ball during the match.'
    Example. 'If he had hit the brakes a second later, he might have missed the deer.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing forms

A common mistake with the verb 'hit' is confusing its past simple form with its past participle form. Unlike many other verbs, 'hit' remains the same in both its past simple and past participle forms. The error usually arises when learners mistakenly believe they need to modify the verb for the past participle, leading to incorrect forms like 'hitted' or 'hitten.' Correct usage. 'Yesterday, I hit the ball during the game.' (Past Simple) and 'I have hit the ball out of the park before.' (Past Participle).

— 02

Incorrect Use in Perfect Tenses

Another frequent error is the misuse of 'hit' in perfect tenses due to misunderstanding its past participle form. Since 'hit' does not change, some learners might incorrectly conjugate it when forming present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect tenses, thinking it should vary as other verbs do. This leads to sentences that mistakenly attempt to alter the verb, such as 'I have hitted the target,' instead of the correct 'I have hit the target.'

— 03

Redundancy in Past Tense

A less common but notable mistake is adding redundant past tense markers to 'hit' because of its irregular form. Learners sometimes add did + hit in the past simple unnecessarily, not recognizing 'hit' itself already indicates the past. For example, they might say, 'I did hit the ball,' to emphasize the past action, which is not grammatically incorrect but often redundant. The sentence 'I hit the ball' is sufficient to convey the action in the past.

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Frequently asked questions

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

The word 'hit' is unique in that its past simple form and past participle form are the same as the base form. So, both the past simple and the past participle form are 'hit'.

How do you use 'hit' in the past simple tense?

To use 'hit' in the past simple tense, you keep the word unchanged. You simply use 'hit' to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example. Yesterday, I hit the ball out of the park. He hit the target during practice last week.

How is 'hit' used as a past participle in sentences?

When using 'hit' as a past participle, it remains unchanged and is typically used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses or the passive voice. For instance. I have never hit such a high note before. (Present Perfect) The window was hit by a stray ball. (Passive Voice)

Can you provide examples showing the difference between using 'hit' in past simple and as a past participle?

Sure! Here’s how 'hit' can be used in sentences to reflect its role as a past simple verb and as a past participle. Past Simple. He hit the ball with all his might yesterday. (This sentence indicates a completed action that took place at a specific time in the past.) Past Participle in Present Perfect. She has hit the bullseye three times today. (This sentence suggests an action that has relevance to the present moment or has happened at an unspecified time before now.) Past Participle in Passive Voice. The car was hit by a falling tree during the storm. (This sentence uses the past participle in a passive construction to emphasize the action and the object receiving the action.)