Sprain past tense
Meaning of sprain
to wrench or twist the ligaments of (an ankle, wrist, or other joint) violently.
Infinitive
- 1. If you're not careful, you might sprain your ankle while playing soccer on the uneven field.
- 2. She frequently sprains her wrist because she doesn't stretch properly before gymnastics practice.
- 3. To avoid the risk of injury, he learns how not to sprain his muscles during heavy lifting sessions at the gym.
Past Simple
- 1. She sprained her ankle during the hike and couldn't walk back unassisted.
- 2. He sprained his wrist while playing basketball last week.
- 3. I accidentally sprained my neck when I turned too quickly to look behind me.
Past Participle
- 1. The ankle had been badly sprained during the basketball game.
- 2. She has sprained her wrist multiple times this year.
- 3. The injury was diagnosed as a severely sprained ankle by the doctor.
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Bare infinitive
- To describe a habitual action or general truth in the present.Example. I sometimes sprain my ankle during soccer practice.Example. If you don't stretch properly, you sprain your muscles more easily.
- To give instructions or directions.Example. I sometimes sprain my ankle during soccer practice.Example. If you don't stretch properly, you sprain your muscles more easily.
Past Simple
- To describe an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past.Example. I sprained my wrist during the match last Friday.Example. Back in high school, I often sprained my ankle during track and field season.
- To describe a past habit or a repeated action in the past.Example. I sprained my wrist during the match last Friday.Example. Back in high school, I often sprained my ankle during track and field season.
Past Participle
- To form the perfect aspect (with 'have'/'has') to indicate an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past.Example. She has sprained her ankle twice this year.Example. His ankle was badly sprained during the soccer game.Example. He couldn't walk on his sprained ankle.
- To form the passive voice to indicate something was done to the subject.Example. She has sprained her ankle twice this year.Example. His ankle was badly sprained during the soccer game.Example. He couldn't walk on his sprained ankle.
- As an adjective to describe a noun.Example. She has sprained her ankle twice this year.Example. His ankle was badly sprained during the soccer game.Example. He couldn't walk on his sprained ankle.
Common mistakes
— 01
Incorrect Verb Form Usage
A common mistake is using the wrong form of the verb 'sprain' in past simple and past participle contexts. The past simple form is 'sprained,' and the past participle form is also 'sprained.' However, some might mistakenly use 'sprain' or an incorrect variation (like 'sprang' or 'spraineded') in both cases. For instance, saying 'I sprain my ankle yesterday' instead of the correct 'I sprained my ankle yesterday.' Similarly, in perfect tenses, one should say, 'I have sprained my ankle' instead of incorrectly using 'I have sprain my ankle.'
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Confusion with Similar Verbs
Another mistake involves confusing the verb 'sprain' with similar verbs that have irregular past forms. For example, 'spring' has the past simple form 'sprang' and the past participle form 'sprung.' People might mistakenly apply this pattern to 'sprain,' leading to errors like 'I sprang my wrist' instead of the correct 'I sprained my wrist.' This confusion arises from the phonetic similarity between 'sprain' and 'spring,' but remembering that 'sprain' does not change irregularly can help avoid this error.
— 03
Overgeneralizing Irregular Patterns
Some learners overapply irregular verb patterns to regular verbs like 'sprain.' They might think that since many English verbs have unique past simple and past participle forms, 'sprain' should follow suit. This misunderstanding leads to errors such as using 'sprun' (a nonexistent form) instead of the correct 'sprained.' Remembering that 'sprain' follows the regular verb pattern, where the past simple and past participle forms are created by adding -ed to the base form, can help maintain accuracy in verb tense usage.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple form of 'sprain'?
How do you use the past participle form of 'sprain'?
Can you give an example of a sentence using 'sprained' in the past perfect tense?