Speed past tense
Meaning of speed
to move quickly.
Infinitive
- 1. The car speeds down the empty highway at night, making the journey quicker.
- 2. He always speeds when he thinks the road is empty, but it's a dangerous habit.
- 3. The bullet speeds towards its target with incredible precision.
Past Simple
- 1. She sped through the empty streets to get home before midnight.
- 2. The motorcycle sped past us, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
- 3. The hours sped by as we lost ourselves in the fascinating museum exhibits.
Past Participle
- 1. He have sped to the concert to arrive in time.
- 2. The project has been sped up to meet the deadline.
- 3. The race was sped through by the runners, finishing in record time.
Learn more words on the go
Master verb forms with Promova!
Bare infinitive
- Habitual actionsExample. He speeds through his work every day because he loves to have free time in the evening.Example. Light speeds through the vacuum of space at about 299,792 kilometers per second.Example. The new highspeed train speeds from downtown to the airport in just 25 minutes, starting next month.
- General truthsExample. He speeds through his work every day because he loves to have free time in the evening.Example. Light speeds through the vacuum of space at about 299,792 kilometers per second.Example. The new highspeed train speeds from downtown to the airport in just 25 minutes, starting next month.
- Scheduled events in the near future (usually related to formal timetables or schedules)Example. He speeds through his work every day because he loves to have free time in the evening.Example. Light speeds through the vacuum of space at about 299,792 kilometers per second.Example. The new highspeed train speeds from downtown to the airport in just 25 minutes, starting next month.
Past Simple
- Completed actions in the past at a specific timeExample. They sped through the countryside on their bicycles yesterday afternoon.Example. The team sped through the initial stages of the project and then took a break.Example. When I was younger, I regularly sped on the highway, but now I respect speed limits.Example. Before the new regulation, cars sped down this road all the time.
- A series of completed actions in the pastExample. They sped through the countryside on their bicycles yesterday afternoon.Example. The team sped through the initial stages of the project and then took a break.Example. When I was younger, I regularly sped on the highway, but now I respect speed limits.Example. Before the new regulation, cars sped down this road all the time.
- Past habitsExample. They sped through the countryside on their bicycles yesterday afternoon.Example. The team sped through the initial stages of the project and then took a break.Example. When I was younger, I regularly sped on the highway, but now I respect speed limits.Example. Before the new regulation, cars sped down this road all the time.
- Past facts or generalizations which are no longer trueExample. They sped through the countryside on their bicycles yesterday afternoon.Example. The team sped through the initial stages of the project and then took a break.Example. When I was younger, I regularly sped on the highway, but now I respect speed limits.Example. Before the new regulation, cars sped down this road all the time.
Past Participle
- Present Perfect tense for actions that happened at an unspecified time before nowExample. The company has sped up the processing time significantly.Example. By the time the competition caught up, we had already sped up our production to meet demand.Example. The deadline was sped up to ensure the project's timely completion.Example. We have been speeding through these tasks quicker than anticipated.Example. Had the project been speeded up from the beginning, we would have finished by now.
- Past Perfect tense for actions that were completed before another action in the pastExample. The company has sped up the processing time significantly.Example. By the time the competition caught up, we had already sped up our production to meet demand.Example. The deadline was sped up to ensure the project's timely completion.Example. We have been speeding through these tasks quicker than anticipated.Example. Had the project been speeded up from the beginning, we would have finished by now.
- Passive voice to describe an action done to the subjectExample. The company has sped up the processing time significantly.Example. By the time the competition caught up, we had already sped up our production to meet demand.Example. The deadline was sped up to ensure the project's timely completion.Example. We have been speeding through these tasks quicker than anticipated.Example. Had the project been speeded up from the beginning, we would have finished by now.
- Perfect Continuous Tenses (though less common with this verb)Example. The company has sped up the processing time significantly.Example. By the time the competition caught up, we had already sped up our production to meet demand.Example. The deadline was sped up to ensure the project's timely completion.Example. We have been speeding through these tasks quicker than anticipated.Example. Had the project been speeded up from the beginning, we would have finished by now.
- Conditional sentences and some other structures requiring the participle formExample. The company has sped up the processing time significantly.Example. By the time the competition caught up, we had already sped up our production to meet demand.Example. The deadline was sped up to ensure the project's timely completion.Example. We have been speeding through these tasks quicker than anticipated.Example. Had the project been speeded up from the beginning, we would have finished by now.
Common mistakes
— 01
Incorrectly Using 'Speed'
A common mistake is using 'speed' instead of the correct past simple form 'sped' or the less common but also correct 'speeded' when referring to past actions. For example, incorrectly saying 'He speed to the store yesterday' instead of the correct 'He sped to the store yesterday.'
— 02
Confusing Forms
Another mistake is confusing the past participle form of 'speed' with its past simple form. The correct past participle form is 'sped' or 'speeded,' which should be used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses. For instance, mistakenly saying 'He has speed to work every day last week' instead of the correct 'He has sped to work every day last week.'
— 03
Confusing Patterns
Many learners of English mistakenly apply regular verb conjugation patterns to 'speed,' treating it as if it would follow the regular '-ed' ending for its past forms. This leads to errors like saying 'speeded' in contexts where 'sped' is more traditionally correct, though 'speeded' is accepted in some contexts, especially in American English. The mistake here is not recognizing the flexibility and variation in usage between 'sped' and 'speeded,' and applying one form incorrectly across all contexts. For example, incorrectly insisting on 'He speeded up the process' in a formal context where 'He sped up the process' might be preferred.
Past tense quiz
Check your skills and find areas for improvement