Show past tense

Meaning of show

to make visible or known.

Infinitive

Word: show /ʃoʊ/

Examples:

1. Every morning, she shows her appreciation by making breakfast for her family.
2. This documentary shows the impact of climate change on polar bears.
3. The teacher always shows patience when explaining complex topics to students.

Past Simple

Word: showed /ʃoʊd/

Examples:

1. He showed me how to tie a knot yesterday.
2. They showed their tickets at the entrance and were allowed inside.
3. The teacher showed the students a new way to solve the problem during class last week.

Past Participle

Word: shown /ʃoʊn/

Examples:

1. The entire TV series had been shown by the network by the end of the month.
2. The documentary was shown to the class by the teacher for educational purposes.
3. The masterpiece had been shown in galleries around the world before it was finally sold.

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Bare infinitive

General truths or facts. When expressing facts that are always true.
Example. Water shows a reflection in bright light.
Example. She shows her artwork every Sunday at the local gallery.
Example. The exhibition shows the latest technology developments this Friday.
Habitual actions or routines. For routines or habits that occur in the present.
Example. She shows her artwork every Sunday at the local gallery.
Example. The exhibition shows the latest technology developments this Friday.
Fixed arrangements. Referring to scheduled events or actions in the near future (common with timetables or schedules).
Example. She shows her artwork every Sunday at the local gallery.
Example. The exhibition shows the latest technology developments this Friday.

Past Simple

Completed actions in the past. For actions or events that were completed at a specific time in the past.
Example. He showed me his new car yesterday.
Example. She showed her ID, entered the building, and immediately went to her office.
Example. He always showed enthusiasm for soccer games when he was young.
Sequences of actions in the past. For listing actions that happened one after another in the past.
Example. He showed me his new car yesterday.
Example. She showed her ID, entered the building, and immediately went to her office.
Example. He always showed enthusiasm for soccer games when he was young.
Past habits or states. For actions or situations that were true in the past but not anymore.
Example. He showed me his new car yesterday.
Example. She showed her ID, entered the building, and immediately went to her office.
Example. He always showed enthusiasm for soccer games when he was young.

Past Participle

Perfect tenses.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.
Present perfect. For actions or situations that occurred at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.
Past perfect. For actions or situations that were completed before another action or time in the past.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.
Future perfect. For actions that will be completed before a specified future time.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.
Passive voice. For stating an action that is performed on the subject by someone or something.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.
Conditional sentences. In conditional structures, especially in the third conditional to talk about hypothetical situations in the past.
Example. She has shown remarkable progress in her studies.
Example. By the time the awards were announced, he had already shown his collection to the jury.
Example. By next month, they will have shown their new designs to the entire team.
Example. The documentary was shown on national television yesterday.
Example. If you had shown me the document earlier, I could have helped.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing 'showed' and 'shown'

A prevalent error involves misusing 'showed' and 'shown' by interchanging them or using one when the other is appropriate. 'Showed' is the past simple form, correctly used to describe an action that happened in the past, while 'shown' is the past participle form, used with auxiliary verbs like 'have' or 'has' to form the present perfect tense or with 'had' for the past perfect tense. Learners might incorrectly use 'shown' in a simple past context (e.g., 'I shown him the way') or use 'showed' where the past participle is needed (e.g., 'I have showed you').

— 02

Incorrect past participle

Another mistake involves attempting to regularize the past participle of 'show' by adding '-ed' to form 'showed' instead of using 'shown.' This error stems from applying the common rule of adding '-ed' to the infinitive of regular verbs to form their past participle, without recognizing that 'show' is an irregular verb with 'shown' as its correct past participle form. This misunderstanding leads to incorrect sentences like 'I have showed it to her' instead of the correct 'I have shown it to her.'

— 03

Mispronunciation of past forms

Pronunciation errors can occur with both 'showed' and 'shown.' Since the past simple and past participle forms of 'show' have different pronunciations (/ʃoʊd/ for 'showed' and /ʃoʊn/ for 'shown'), learners might mistakenly apply the pronunciation of one form to the other. This can lead to mispronouncing 'shown' as /ʃoʊd/ or vice versa, reflecting a challenge in navigating the pronunciation differences between these forms, particularly for English language learners unfamiliar with irregular verb patterns.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the past simple and past participle forms of 'show'?

The past simple form of 'show' is 'showed.' The past participle form is 'shown.' It's important to note that 'shown' is used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses or the passive voice.

How do I use the past simple form 'showed' in a sentence?

You use 'showed' to talk about something that happened at a specific time in the past. It doesn't matter when; the only requirement is that the action is completed. For example, 'Yesterday, I showed my friend the new cafe downtown.' Here, 'showed' indicates a completed action that occurred yesterday. When should I use the past participle 'shown'

Can you give an example of 'shown' and 'showed' used in the same context for clarity?

Certainly. Consider these two sentences. Past Simple. 'Last week, the teacher showed us how to solve the equation.' Present Perfect. 'The teacher has shown us many different methods throughout the semester.' In the first sentence, 'showed' is used to specify an action that happened at a specific time in the past (last week). In the second sentence, 'has shown' indicates that the action started in the past and continues up to now, or its effects are still relevant now. Both sentences refer to the act of demonstrating, but the tense indicates the timing relative to the present.