Lose past tense

Type your word here
Try:

Learn past tenses to communicate in English accurately

Meaning of lose

to be unable to find something or someone.

Infinitive

Word: lose /luːz/
Examples:
  • 1. She always loses her keys when she's in a hurry.
  • 2. He loses interest quickly if the conversation doesn't engage him.
  • 3. The team loses more games than it wins each season.

Past Simple

Word: lost /lɒst/
Examples:
  • 1. I lost my keys somewhere in the park yesterday.
  • 2. They lost the game despite having a good lead in the first half.
  • 3. She lost her patience and shouted at the children for making too much noise.

Past Participle

Word: lost /lɒst/
Examples:
  • 1. The championship has been lost by the team despite their best efforts.
  • 2. His keys had been lost several times before he decided to attach a tracker to them.
  • 3. The message was lost in translation between the two languages.

Learn more words on the go

Master verb forms with Promova!

Download the app
cta-section-decorative-line-left
cta-section-decorative-line-left

Bare infinitive

  1. Habitual Actions. When discussing habits or repeated actions.
    Example. I always lose my keys in the morning.
    Example. If you don’t focus, you lose the game.
    Example. To win, make sure you don’t lose focus during the match.
  2. General Truths. When stating facts that are generally true.
    Example. I always lose my keys in the morning.
    Example. If you don’t focus, you lose the game.
    Example. To win, make sure you don’t lose focus during the match.
  3. Instructions or Directions. When giving instructions or directions as part of a fixed, often immediate, sequence of actions.
    Example. I always lose my keys in the morning.
    Example. If you don’t focus, you lose the game.
    Example. To win, make sure you don’t lose focus during the match.

Past Simple

  1. Completed Actions in the Past. When talking about actions or events that were finished at a specific time in the past.
    Example. I lost my wallet yesterday.
    Example. When I was a child, I frequently lost my toys.
    Example. I woke up late, missed the bus, and eventually lost my chance to attend the meeting.
    Example. Before GPS, people lost their way more frequently.
  2. Past Habit. To describe a habit that was regular in the past but no longer happens.
    Example. I lost my wallet yesterday.
    Example. When I was a child, I frequently lost my toys.
    Example. I woke up late, missed the bus, and eventually lost my chance to attend the meeting.
    Example. Before GPS, people lost their way more frequently.
  3. Sequential Actions in the Past. When narrating a series of completed actions or events that happened one after another in the past.
    Example. I lost my wallet yesterday.
    Example. When I was a child, I frequently lost my toys.
    Example. I woke up late, missed the bus, and eventually lost my chance to attend the meeting.
    Example. Before GPS, people lost their way more frequently.
  4. Past Facts or Generalizations. When making a statement about the past that was generally true at the time.
    Example. I lost my wallet yesterday.
    Example. When I was a child, I frequently lost my toys.
    Example. I woke up late, missed the bus, and eventually lost my chance to attend the meeting.
    Example. Before GPS, people lost their way more frequently.

Past Participle

  1. Perfect Tenses.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  2. Present Perfect. For actions or states that have occurred at an unspecified time in the past and are still relevant or continue into the present.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  3. Past Perfect. For actions that were completed before another past action or time.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  4. Future Perfect. To indicate that an action will have been completed by a certain future time.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  5. Passive Voice. When the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action rather than the doer.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  6. Adjectives/Participles Describing Condition or State. Sometimes used adjectivally to describe the condition or state of someone or something.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.
  7. Conditional Sentences. In the conditional or 'if' clauses that express hypothetical situations or outcomes.
    Example. I have lost my way before, so now I use a map.
    Example. She felt devastated because she had lost her family heirloom.
    Example. By next year, I will have lost twenty pounds.
    Example. The championship was lost by the team in the final minutes.
    Example. Feeling lost is common in the early stages of learning something new.
    Example. If he had lost that match, he might have given up his career.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing forms

One of the most common mistakes with the verb 'lose' is using incorrect forms for its past simple and past participle. Both the past simple and past participle forms of 'lose' are 'lost.' However, learners often mistakenly believe that these forms should differ or use 'losed' (a non-existent form) for one of the tenses. For example, the correct usage is 'I lost my keys yesterday' (past simple) and 'I have lost my keys' (past participle), not 'I losed my keys.'

— 02

Misusing 'lost' in present perfect

Another mistake involves the misuse of 'lost' when forming present perfect sentences. Because 'lost' serves as both the past simple and past participle form, it is crucial to remember to use the auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' for present perfect constructions. A common error is omitting 'have' or 'has,' leading to incorrect sentences. Correctly, it should be 'I have lost my way,' not 'I lost my way' when intending to use the present perfect tense.

— 03

Forming negatives and questions

A frequent error occurs when learners form negative sentences or questions in the past simple or present perfect. They might forget to use 'did not' (didn't) for past simple negative or invert the subject and auxiliary verb incorrectly in questions. For example, the correct negative past simple is 'I didn't lose my phone,' not 'I not lost my phone.' For a present perfect question, it should be 'Have you lost your keys?' not 'Did you lost your keys?'

Past tense quiz

Check your skills and find areas for improvement

Take quiz

Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'lose'?

The past simple form of 'lose' is 'lost.' It is used to describe an action or situation that was completed in the past. For example, 'Yesterday, I lost my keys.'

What is the past participle form of 'lose'?

The past participle form of 'lose' is also 'lost.' It is used with auxiliary verbs (have, has, had) to form perfect tenses. For example, 'I have lost my keys.'

How do I use 'lost' in a sentence correctly when talking about a past event?

When talking about a past event, 'lost' can be used as both the past simple and the past participle form. For past simple, you typically use it to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past, e.g., 'He lost his way in the forest yesterday.' For the past participle, you use it with an auxiliary verb to indicate an action that has relevance to the present or was completed at some unspecified time in the past, e.g., 'She has lost interest in playing piano.'

Can you give examples of sentences using 'lost' in different tenses?

Past Simple. 'They lost the game last Saturday.' Present Perfect. 'I have lost my wallet somewhere.' Past Perfect. 'By the time we arrived, they had already lost hope.' Future Perfect. 'By next year, he will have lost ten pounds if he sticks to his diet.' Each example demonstrates how 'lost' functions within various tenses to convey time-related aspects of losing something or experiencing loss.