Hit past tense
Meaning of hit
to strike or come into contact with forcefully.
Infinitive
- 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
- 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
- 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.
Learn more words on the go
Master verb forms with Promova!
Bare infinitive
- 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.'
- 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.'
- 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
- 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.'
- 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.'
- 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
- 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.'
- 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.'
- 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.
Past tense quiz
Check your skills and find areas for improvement