Plan past tense
Meaning of plan
to devise or project the realization or achievement of something.
Infinitive
- 1. She always plans her day the night before to stay organized.
- 2. He plans to start his new job next week.
- 3. They plan a vacation every summer to explore new places.
Past Simple
- 1. We planned a surprise party for her birthday last month.
- 2. They planned to hike the mountain early in the morning but woke up late.
- 3. I planned to finish the report by Wednesday, but it took me until Friday.
Past Participle
- 1. The meeting had been planned meticulously by the event coordinator.
- 2. A surprise party for her was planned by all her friends.
- 3. The project's phases had been carefully planned before execution commenced.
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Bare infinitive
- Routine or general fact. When describing an action that is a regular occurrence or a universal fact.Example. 'I usually plan my work schedule a week in advance.'Example. 'The conference plans to cover various topics related to technology next month.'
- Future scheduled events (in some contexts). When discussing scheduled or organized events, often in the context of official timetables or programs.Example. 'I usually plan my work schedule a week in advance.'Example. 'The conference plans to cover various topics related to technology next month.'
Past Simple
- Completed action in the past. When talking about an action that was completed at a specific time in the past.Example. 'We planned our vacation to Italy last year.'Example. 'In college, she always planned her studies around her work schedule.'
- Past habit. When referring to actions that were regular occurrences in the past but not necessarily in the present.Example. 'We planned our vacation to Italy last year.'Example. 'In college, she always planned her studies around her work schedule.'
Past Participle
- Perfect tenses.
- Present Perfect. When talking about actions completed at some point in the past but linked to the present or when the exact time is not specified.
- Example (Present Perfect). 'Have you planned your project presentation yet?'
- Past Perfect. When describing an action that was completed before another action or time in the past.
- Example (Past Perfect). 'By the time the meeting started, we had already planned the next steps.'
- Future Perfect. To describe an action that will have been completed by a specific future time.
- Example (Future Perfect). 'By next year, they will have planned several new initiatives.'
- Passive voice. When the focus is on the action or the result of the action rather than who or what is performing the action.
- Example (Passive voice). 'The event was well planned by the team.'
Common mistakes
— 01
Confusing Forms
A common mistake is using the past simple form of 'plan' (planned) when the past participle form is needed, or vice versa. The past simple is used for the simple past tense, indicating an action that was completed in the past (e.g., 'I planned a trip last year'). The past participle, also 'planned' in this case, is used in perfect tenses and passive voice (e.g., 'The trip has been planned for months' or 'I have planned several trips this year'). Mixing these usages can lead to grammatical errors and confusion.
— 02
Incorrect Double Consonant
Another mistake involves not doubling the consonant 'n' in the past forms of 'plan.' The correct past simple and past participle form of 'plan' is 'planned,' not 'planed.' Forgetting to double the 'n' can lead to the creation of a word that either doesn't exist or has a completely different meaning (e.g., 'planed,' which actually refers to the action of smoothing wood with a plane).
— 03
Incorrect Forms
Some learners might incorrectly assume that 'plan' follows an irregular verb pattern due to its single-syllable, consonant-vowel-consonant structure, which is a common characteristic among some irregular verbs. This can lead to made-up past forms like 'plen' or 'plun' based on mistaken analogies with verbs like 'run' (ran, run) or 'begin' (began, begun). The correct forms, however, strictly follow the regular verb pattern by simply adding -ed for both the past simple and past participle (planned).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple form of 'plan'?
How do you form the past participle of 'plan'?
Can you give an example of 'planned' used in a sentence?