Rewrite past tense
Meaning of rewrite
to write something again so as to alter or improve it.
Infinitive
- 1. Every week, she rewrites her notes to make sure she remembers the material.
- 2. He often rewrites his essays multiple times to perfect them.
- 3. The author rewrites the first chapter again, aiming to hook the readers from the beginning.
Past Simple
- 1. The students rewrote their essays because texts were not clear enough.
- 2. After realizing she made a mistake in her email, she quickly rewrote the message before sending it out.
- 3. They rewrote the entire codebase because the original version was too buggy and inefficient.
Past Participle
- 1. The novel was rewritten by the author in just six months.
- 2. I have rewritten my essay in 2 hours.
- 3. The rewritten digest was approved for publishing.
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Bare infinitive
- To describe habitual actions or routines involving the process of altering or improving a piece of writing.Example. She rewrites her essays several times to perfect them.Example. Good writers often rewrite their work to enhance clarity and impact.Example. When you are not satisfied with your draft, rewrite it until it conveys your message clearly.
- To state facts or general truths about the necessity or process of rewriting for improvement.Example. She rewrites her essays several times to perfect them.Example. Good writers often rewrite their work to enhance clarity and impact.Example. When you are not satisfied with your draft, rewrite it until it conveys your message clearly.
- To give instructions or advice about the process of writing and revision.Example. She rewrites her essays several times to perfect them.Example. Good writers often rewrite their work to enhance clarity and impact.Example. When you are not satisfied with your draft, rewrite it until it conveys your message clearly.
Past Simple
- To talk about a specific instance in the past when something was written again for alteration or improvement.Example. He rewrote the proposal after receiving feedback from his supervisor.Example. We gathered the team's suggestions, then rewrote the project plan to include their ideas.Example. She used to rewrite her notes by hand to better memorize the material.
- To describe a series of actions in the past involving the rewriting process.Example. He rewrote the proposal after receiving feedback from his supervisor.Example. We gathered the team's suggestions, then rewrote the project plan to include their ideas.Example. She used to rewrite her notes by hand to better memorize the material.
- To express a past habit or state involving the process of rewriting that is no longer true.Example. He rewrote the proposal after receiving feedback from his supervisor.Example. We gathered the team's suggestions, then rewrote the project plan to include their ideas.Example. She used to rewrite her notes by hand to better memorize the material.
Past Participle
- Perfect tenses - To talk about the process of rewriting that has happened, with relevance to the present moment or completed at an unspecified time in the past.Example. The script was rewritten by a new team of writers to better align with the director's vision.
- Example (Present Perfect). They have rewritten the software's documentation to make it more user-friendly.Example. The script was rewritten by a new team of writers to better align with the director's vision.
- Example (Past Perfect). By the time the book was published, it had been rewritten multiple times.Example. The script was rewritten by a new team of writers to better align with the director's vision.
- Passive voice - To describe situations where the focus is on the piece that was rewritten, rather than who rewrote it.Example. The script was rewritten by a new team of writers to better align with the director's vision.
Common mistakes
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Incorrect endings
A prevalent mistake is attempting to regularize 'rewrite' by adding '-ed' for its past simple and past participle forms, resulting in incorrect forms such as 'rewrited.' The correct past simple form is 'rewrote,' and the past participle form is 'rewritten.' This error typically stems from the general tendency to apply the regular verb conjugation pattern (adding '-ed') without recognizing that 'rewrite' follows an irregular conjugation pattern.
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Mixing up forms
Another common error involves confusing the past simple form 'rewrote' with the past participle form 'rewritten,' using them interchangeably. For instance, some might incorrectly say 'I have rewrote the essay' instead of the correct 'I have rewritten the essay.' This mistake reflects a misunderstanding of the distinct roles these forms play in different grammatical constructions, with 'rewrote' used for simple past actions and 'rewritten' needed for perfect tenses.
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Mispronunciation
Pronouncing 'rewrote' and 'rewritten' can be challenging, leading to pronunciation errors. Learners might apply the pronunciation rules of the base verb 'rewrite' (/ˈriːraɪt/) to its past forms, resulting in mispronunciations. For example, they might not adjust the vowel sound adequately, pronouncing 'rewrote' too similarly to 'rewrite' or not capturing the distinct sound of 'rewritten' (/ˌriːˈrɪt.ən/). These pronunciation mistakes underline the difficulties in navigating the shifts in vowel sounds and stress patterns that occur in the irregular past forms of English verbs.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple form of 'rewrite'?
What is the past participle form of 'rewrite'?
How do I use 'rewrote' in a sentence correctly?
Can you give an example of a sentence using 'rewritten' in the passive voice?