Sigh past tense

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Meaning of sigh

to exhale audibly in a long deep breath, as in weariness or relief.

Infinitive

Word: sigh /saɪ/
Examples:
  • 1. She often sighs deeply when feeling overwhelmed by work.
  • 2. Every night before bed, he sighs with relief that the day is over.
  • 3. When I tell jokes, my friend just sighs and shakes his head.

Past Simple

Word: sighed /saɪd/
Examples:
  • 1. She sighed heavily as she read through the old letters, feeling a wave of nostalgia.
  • 2. He sighed in relief when he found his lost keys in his coat pocket.
  • 3. They sighed in disappointment when they arrived at the beach only to find it closed for cleaning.

Past Participle

Word: sighed /saɪd/
Examples:
  • 1. She had sighed deeply before making her difficult decision.
  • 2. By the end of the day, he had sighed more times than he could count.
  • 3. We had sighed in relief when we heard the good news.

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Bare infinitive

  1. Habitual actions or routines
    Example. 'Every evening, she sighs deeply as she sits down to relax after a long day.'
    Example. 'People often sigh when they are frustrated or relieved.'
    Example. 'The play sighs into silence as it begins, capturing the audience's attention immediately.'
  2. General truths or facts. Also used when stating something that is generally true or a fact about someone or something.
    Example. 'Every evening, she sighs deeply as she sits down to relax after a long day.'
    Example. 'People often sigh when they are frustrated or relieved.'
    Example. 'The play sighs into silence as it begins, capturing the audience's attention immediately.'
  3. Scheduled events in the near future (in a timetabled sense). Somewhat less common with 'sigh,' but applies in contexts where 1. Bare infinitive.
    Example. 'Every evening, she sighs deeply as she sits down to relax after a long day.'
    Example. 'People often sigh when they are frustrated or relieved.'
    Example. 'The play sighs into silence as it begins, capturing the audience's attention immediately.'

Past Simple

  1. Completed actions in the past. Used to describe actions that were finished at a specific time in the past.
    Example. 'She sighed in contentment as she finished reading her book last night.'
    Example. 'He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and fell asleep.'
    Example. 'As a teenager, she often sighed over unrequited crushes.'
  2. A series of completed actions. When listing actions in the past that happened one after the other.
    Example. 'She sighed in contentment as she finished reading her book last night.'
    Example. 'He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and fell asleep.'
    Example. 'As a teenager, she often sighed over unrequited crushes.'
  3. A situation that was true for some time in the past. Describing past states or situations that were true for a period but are no longer the case.
    Example. 'She sighed in contentment as she finished reading her book last night.'
    Example. 'He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and fell asleep.'
    Example. 'As a teenager, she often sighed over unrequited crushes.'

Past Participle

  1. Perfect tenses.
    Example. 'She has sighed countless times, but this was the deepest yet.'
    Example. 'By the time she arrived, he had already sighed in resignation.'
    Example. 'By the end of the day, she will have sighed with exhaustion more than once.'
  2. Present Perfect. For actions that happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.
    Example. 'She has sighed countless times, but this was the deepest yet.'
    Example. 'By the time she arrived, he had already sighed in resignation.'
    Example. 'By the end of the day, she will have sighed with exhaustion more than once.'
  3. Past Perfect. For actions that were completed before another action or time in the past.
    Example. 'She has sighed countless times, but this was the deepest yet.'
    Example. 'By the time she arrived, he had already sighed in resignation.'
    Example. 'By the end of the day, she will have sighed with exhaustion more than once.'
  4. Future Perfect. For actions that will be completed before a specific action or time in the future.
    Example. 'She has sighed countless times, but this was the deepest yet.'
    Example. 'By the time she arrived, he had already sighed in resignation.'
    Example. 'By the end of the day, she will have sighed with exhaustion more than once.'

Common mistakes

— 01

Spelling Change

When forming the past tense of 'sigh' to 'sighed,' a common mistake is adding an unnecessary or incorrect suffix due to misunderstanding the regular verb conjugation rules. Unlike verbs that require more complex changes (like changing a final 'y' to 'ied'), 'sigh' simply adds 'ed.' However, learners might overcomplicate this, leading to incorrect spellings such as 'sighed' being misspelled as 'sighd' or adding an extra 'e' to form 'sigheded.'

— 02

Pronunciation

'Sighed' is correctly pronounced /saɪd/, but learners might struggle with blending the 'gh' and 'ed' sounds smoothly, leading to mispronunciation. Since the 'gh' in 'sigh' is silent and the 'ed' adds a 'd' sound that blends with the preceding 'i' to form a sound identical to 'side,' some may incorrectly emphasize the 'ed,' trying to pronounce it as a separate syllable (e.g., 'sigh-ed') or misinterpret the silent 'gh' to affect the pronunciation.

— 03

Improper Use in Sentence

Though 'sighed' serves correctly as both the past simple and past participle, mistakes can arise in its application within more complex sentence structures. For instance, using 'sighed' when a present or future tense is required shows a misunderstanding of tense application (e.g., using 'sighed' instead of 'sigh' or 'will sigh'). Additionally, incorrectly using 'sighed' without auxiliary verbs in perfect tenses or passive constructions (e.g., omitting 'have' in 'have sighed' or misusing it in a passive voice context) can lead to errors. These mistakes highlight the importance of understanding tense, aspect, and the role of auxiliary verbs in English verb conjugation.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'sigh'?

The past simple form of 'sigh' is 'sighed.' This form is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. For example, 'Yesterday, she sighed deeply during the meeting.'

What is the past participle form of 'sigh'?

The past participle form of 'sigh' is also 'sighed.' This form is used in perfect tenses to describe actions that have been completed at the time of speaking or at a specified time in the past. For instance, 'He has sighed every time he looked at the old photograph.'

How do I use 'sighed' in a sentence to express regret or relief in the past?

To express regret or relief, you can use 'sighed' to indicate the emotional context of the action. For example, to express regret, you might say, 'She sighed with regret when she realized her mistake.' To express relief, you could say, 'He finally found his lost keys and sighed with relief.'

Can 'sighed' be used with auxiliary verbs to form different tenses?

Yes, 'sighed' can be used with auxiliary verbs to form different tenses. For example, in the present perfect tense, you would use 'has' or 'have' with 'sighed' to describe an action that occurred in the past but is relevant to the present, such as 'I have sighed too many times to count today.' In the past perfect tense, you would use 'had' with 'sighed' to describe an action that was completed before another action or time in the past, like 'By the time the meeting ended, she had sighed at least a dozen times.'