Kill past tense

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Learn past tenses to communicate in English accurately

Meaning of kill

to cause the death of a person or animal.

Infinitive

Word: kill /kɪl/
Examples:
  • 1. Cats often kill mice when they find them in the house.
  • 2. Some plants release chemicals into the soil to kill off competition.
  • 3. In many video games, players need to kill enemies to progress.

Past Simple

Word: killed /kɪld/
Examples:
  • 1. The hunter killed a deer in the forest yesterday.
  • 2. She killed him for lying to her.
  • 3. They killed the lights and snuck out the back door to avoid being seen.

Past Participle

Word: killed /kɪld/
Examples:
  • 1. The mouse was killed by the cat.
  • 2. The secret had been killed before it could spread.
  • 3. The hopes for a swift victory have been killed by the recent setbacks.

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Bare infinitive

  1. General Facts or Universal Truths.
    Example. Lions kill their prey.
    Example. He kills time by playing video games every evening.
    Example. The meeting starts at 9, which kills my morning workout routine.
  2. Habitual Actions.
    Example. Lions kill their prey.
    Example. He kills time by playing video games every evening.
    Example. The meeting starts at 9, which kills my morning workout routine.
  3. Fixed Arrangements.
    Example. Lions kill their prey.
    Example. He kills time by playing video games every evening.
    Example. The meeting starts at 9, which kills my morning workout routine.

Past Simple

  1. Completed Actions in the Past.
    Example. The hunter killed a deer yesterday.
    Example. He often killed time reading before he found his love for painting.
    Example. He went to the store, bought a knife, and killed the engine of his car trying to fix it himself.
  2. Past Habits or States.
    Example. The hunter killed a deer yesterday.
    Example. He often killed time reading before he found his love for painting.
    Example. He went to the store, bought a knife, and killed the engine of his car trying to fix it himself.
  3. Sequential Actions in the Past.
    Example. The hunter killed a deer yesterday.
    Example. He often killed time reading before he found his love for painting.
    Example. He went to the store, bought a knife, and killed the engine of his car trying to fix it himself.

Past Participle

  1. Perfect Tenses.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.
  2. Present Perfect. I have killed many hours on this project already.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.
  3. Past Perfect. Before the revolution, the dictator had killed many innocents.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.
  4. Future Perfect. By next year, they will have killed off the invasive species.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.
  5. Passive Voice.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.
  6. Adjectives/Descriptors.
    Example. The deer was killed by the hunter.
    Example. Feeling killed by the sad movie, she decided to call it a night.

Common mistakes

— 01

Incorrect Regular Verb Form Usage

A common mistake is applying the regular verb ending '-ed' to irregular verbs when forming the past simple and past participle forms. This is particularly evident with the verb 'kill,' which is actually a regular verb and correctly adopts '-ed' for its past forms (killed, killed). However, learners often mistakenly apply this rule to irregular verbs, expecting them to follow the same pattern, leading to errors with verbs that do not follow this rule. The mistake here lies not in the treatment of 'kill' but in the misapplication of its correct conjugation pattern to irregular verbs, illustrating a misunderstanding of verb classification.

— 02

Confusing Forms

Another frequent error is confusing the past simple form of a verb with its past participle form, especially in perfect tenses and passive voice constructions. For regular verbs like 'kill,' the past simple and past participle forms are identical (killed, killed), but learners often mistakenly use the base form or the past simple form in places where the past participle is required, such as in the present perfect tense ('I have kill' instead of 'I have killed') or in passive voice ('The man was kill' instead of 'The man was killed').

— 03

Misuse in Compound Tenses

The third common mistake involves the incorrect use of the past participle in compound tenses, particularly in the perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) and passive constructions. Even though 'kill' forms its past participle correctly as 'killed,' learners might forget to use the auxiliary verb (have/has/had) with the past participle in perfect tenses, leading to sentences like 'I killed the game' when they mean to express a completed action in the past with relevance to the present ('I have killed the game'). This mistake shows a lack of understanding of how to correctly form compound tenses using the past participle.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'kill'?

The past simple form of 'kill' is 'killed.' This form is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'He killed the spider with a book yesterday.'

What is the past participle form of 'kill'?

The past participle form of 'kill' is also 'killed.' It is used in perfect tenses and passive voice. For example, in the present perfect tense, you might say, 'They have killed the wasps nesting in the garage.' In a passive voice sentence, you could say, 'The wasps were killed with pesticide.'

How do I use 'killed' in a sentence to indicate a completed action in the past?

To indicate a completed action in the past, you use 'killed' in the past simple tense. Make sure the context of your sentence clearly indicates a specific time or situation in the past. For instance, 'The farmer killed the weeds in his fields last week.' This sentence shows that the action of killing the weeds is complete and happened at a specific time in the past (last week).

Can 'killed' be used in both active and passive voice sentences? How?

Yes, 'killed' can be used in both active and passive voice sentences. In an active voice sentence, the subject performs the action, as in 'The cat killed the mouse.' Here, 'killed' is used in the past simple form, and the focus is on the subject (the cat) performing the action. In a passive voice sentence, the focus is on the action or the recipient of the action, rather than who is performing the action. For example, 'The mouse was killed by the cat.' In this case, 'killed' is part of the verb phrase 'was killed,' indicating the past participle form used in passive voice. The emphasis shifts to the mouse (the recipient of the action) rather than the cat (the performer of the action).