Push past tense
Meaning of push
to exert force on (someone or something) in order to move them away from oneself.
Infinitive
- 1. She always pushes the door open with her foot when her hands are full.
- 2. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose whenever they slide down.
- 3. Every morning, the baker pushes the dough down before shaping it into loaves.
Past Simple
- 1. He pushed the door open with all his might.
- 2. She pushed the button to start the machine yesterday.
- 3. The crowd pushed through the gates when they opened.
Past Participle
- 1. The door had been pushed open before anyone realized the intruder was inside.
- 2. The heavy cart was pushed across the room by the strong winds during the storm.
- 3. Messages had been pushed to users' devices by the application overnight.
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Bare infinitive
- Habitual actionsExample. She pushes her glasses back up her nose every few minutes.Example. This door pushes open; just apply some force.Example. The meeting pushes ahead at 3 PM tomorrow.Example. First, you push this button to start the machine.Example. So, the hero pushes the enemy away and grabs the sword.
- General truths or factsExample. She pushes her glasses back up her nose every few minutes.Example. This door pushes open; just apply some force.Example. The meeting pushes ahead at 3 PM tomorrow.Example. First, you push this button to start the machine.Example. So, the hero pushes the enemy away and grabs the sword.
- Scheduled events in the near future (often used with transportation or timetables)Example. She pushes her glasses back up her nose every few minutes.Example. This door pushes open; just apply some force.Example. The meeting pushes ahead at 3 PM tomorrow.Example. First, you push this button to start the machine.Example. So, the hero pushes the enemy away and grabs the sword.
- Instructions or directionsExample. She pushes her glasses back up her nose every few minutes.Example. This door pushes open; just apply some force.Example. The meeting pushes ahead at 3 PM tomorrow.Example. First, you push this button to start the machine.Example. So, the hero pushes the enemy away and grabs the sword.
- Narrations or storytelling to make them more vivid (historical present)Example. She pushes her glasses back up her nose every few minutes.Example. This door pushes open; just apply some force.Example. The meeting pushes ahead at 3 PM tomorrow.Example. First, you push this button to start the machine.Example. So, the hero pushes the enemy away and grabs the sword.
Past Simple
- Completed actions in the pastExample. He pushed the door open and entered the room.Example. We pushed our bikes up the hill every weekend when we were kids.Example. She pushed the alarm button, and then everything went silent.Example. If she pushed the button, the system would reset.
- Past habits or routinesExample. He pushed the door open and entered the room.Example. We pushed our bikes up the hill every weekend when we were kids.Example. She pushed the alarm button, and then everything went silent.Example. If she pushed the button, the system would reset.
- Sequences of actions in the pastExample. He pushed the door open and entered the room.Example. We pushed our bikes up the hill every weekend when we were kids.Example. She pushed the alarm button, and then everything went silent.Example. If she pushed the button, the system would reset.
- Conditions in past conditional sentencesExample. He pushed the door open and entered the room.Example. We pushed our bikes up the hill every weekend when we were kids.Example. She pushed the alarm button, and then everything went silent.Example. If she pushed the button, the system would reset.
Past Participle
- Perfect aspect forms, to talk about actions that have been completed by a certain timeExample. I have pushed myself too hard this week.Example. The door was pushed open by a strong wind.Example. The button, pushed too many times, finally broke.Example. Had he pushed harder, he might have won the race.
- Passive voice, to describe when an action was done to the subject by someone/somethingExample. I have pushed myself too hard this week.Example. The door was pushed open by a strong wind.Example. The button, pushed too many times, finally broke.Example. Had he pushed harder, he might have won the race.
- As an adjective to describe a state resulting from an actionExample. I have pushed myself too hard this week.Example. The door was pushed open by a strong wind.Example. The button, pushed too many times, finally broke.Example. Had he pushed harder, he might have won the race.
- In conditional sentences, to refer to hypothetical situationsExample. I have pushed myself too hard this week.Example. The door was pushed open by a strong wind.Example. The button, pushed too many times, finally broke.Example. Had he pushed harder, he might have won the race.
Common mistakes
— 01
Confusing Regular and Irregular Verbs
Mistake. Many learners of English often treat irregular verbs like regular ones when forming the past simple and past participle forms. For example, 'push' is a regular verb, and its past simple and past participle forms are correctly made by adding -ed, resulting in 'pushed' for both. However, a common mistake is applying this rule to irregular verbs, leading to incorrect forms. Correct Usage. For 'push,' it's correct to say 'I pushed the door open' (past simple) and 'I have pushed the door open' (past participle). The mistake would be incorrectly regularizing an irregular verb, such as saying 'I goed' instead of 'I went' for the verb 'go.'
— 02
Misusing Base Form
Mistake. Another common error is using the base form of a verb when the past simple or past participle form is required. This can lead to confusion about the timing of the action. For 'push,' this mistake would involve using 'push' instead of 'pushed' in contexts that require a past tense or past participle. Correct Usage. It's correct to say, 'Yesterday, I pushed the car to the gas station' (past simple) and 'I have never pushed a car that far before' (past participle). The mistake would be saying, 'Yesterday, I push the car to the gas station.'
— 03
Extra '-ed'
Mistake. Some learners mistakenly believe that the past participle form requires an extra -ed compared to the past simple form, especially for regular verbs. This leads to non-existent forms. For the verb 'push,' the error would manifest as adding an unnecessary -ed when forming the past participle, even though the past simple and past participle forms are identical for regular verbs. Correct Usage. The correct form is 'pushed' for both the past simple and past participle. An example of correct usage is 'I have pushed the button multiple times,' not 'I have pusheded the button multiple times.' This mistake stems from misunderstanding the formation of past participles for regular verbs.
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