Swear past tense

Type your word here
Try:

Learn past tenses to communicate in English accurately

Meaning of swear

to make a serious promise or oath.

Infinitive

Word: swear /swɛər/
Examples:
  • 1. She always swears to tell the truth, no matter how difficult the situation.
  • 2. He swears that he left his keys on the kitchen counter before leaving the house.
  • 3. They swear to support each other in good times and in bad.

Past Simple

Word: swore /swɔːr/
Examples:
  • 1. He swore he would never tell anyone about the secret garden.
  • 2. Yesterday, they swore allegiance to the new flag.
  • 3. She swore she had locked the door before we left the house.

Past Participle

Word: sworn /swɔːn/
Examples:
  • 1. The truth has been sworn by all witnesses in the court.
  • 2. The oath was sworn solemnly by the new president during the inauguration.
  • 3. Promises had been sworn between them, never to be broken.

Learn more words on the go

Master verb forms with Promova!

Download the app
cta-section-decorative-line-left
cta-section-decorative-line-left

Bare infinitive

  1. General Truths or Facts. When stating something that is generally true or a fact.
    Example. I swear that justice always prevails.
    Example. I swear every time I get frustrated.
    Example. They swear to protect the constitution at all times.
  2. Habits or Routines. For actions that are habitual or occur on a regular basis.
    Example. I swear that justice always prevails.
    Example. I swear every time I get frustrated.
    Example. They swear to protect the constitution at all times.
  3. Permanent Situations. When describing situations that do not change.
    Example. I swear that justice always prevails.
    Example. I swear every time I get frustrated.
    Example. They swear to protect the constitution at all times.

Past Simple

  1. Completed Actions in the Past. When an action was completed at a specific time in the past.
    Example. He swore his loyalty to the king yesterday.
    Example. She swore to secrecy, grabbed the document, and left the room.
    Example. We swore off processed foods last year.
  2. A Series of Completed Actions. When listing actions that happened sequentially in the past.
    Example. He swore his loyalty to the king yesterday.
    Example. She swore to secrecy, grabbed the document, and left the room.
    Example. We swore off processed foods last year.
  3. Past Habits or States. For actions that were regular in the past but not anymore.
    Example. He swore his loyalty to the king yesterday.
    Example. She swore to secrecy, grabbed the document, and left the room.
    Example. We swore off processed foods last year.

Past Participle

  1. Perfect Tenses.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  2. Present Perfect. For actions that occurred at an unspecified time before now or actions that have an effect on the present moment.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  3. Past Perfect. For actions that were completed before another action in the past.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  4. Future Perfect. For actions that will be completed before a specified time in the future.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  5. Passive Voice. When the subject of the sentence is acted upon by someone or something else.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  6. Adjectives. Used to describe a state resulting from an action.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.
  7. Remember, the past participle form 'sworn' is often used with helping verbs (have, has, had) to form the perfect tenses, indicating actions in relation to other time frames, or to form passive voice and adjectival expressions.
    Example. She has sworn to keep the secret safe.
    Example. By the time he arrived, they had already sworn in the new president.
    Example. By next year, I will have sworn allegiance to the new flag.
    Example. The oath was sworn before witnesses.
    Example. She felt sworn to secrecy by the promise she made.

Common mistakes

— 01

Incorrect Regular Verb Treatment

A common mistake is treating 'swear' as a regular verb that simply adds -ed for its past simple and past participle forms. The correct past simple form of 'swear' is 'swore,' and the past participle form is 'sworn,' not 'swearred' or 'swearred.' This error stems from the assumption that all English verbs follow the regular pattern of adding -ed for their past forms, which is not the case, especially with irregular verbs like 'swear.'

— 02

Confusing forms

Another frequent mistake is confusing or using the past simple form ('swore') in place of the past participle form ('sworn'), and vice versa. For example, incorrectly saying 'I have swore to keep the secret' instead of the correct 'I have sworn to keep the secret.' This confusion affects the grammatical correctness of sentences, especially in perfect tenses that require the past participle.

— 03

Misuse in Passive and Perfect

The incorrect use of 'swear’s' past participle form often occurs in passive voice constructions and perfect aspect tenses. Some might mistakenly say, 'He was swear to secrecy' instead of the correct 'He was sworn to secrecy.' Similarly, in perfect tenses, an error like 'She has swear never to reveal the truth' instead of 'She has sworn never to reveal the truth' can occur. These mistakes disrupt the intended meaning and grammatical correctness of the sentence.

Past tense quiz

Check your skills and find areas for improvement

Take quiz

Frequently asked questions

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

The past simple form of 'swear' is 'swore.' The past participle form is 'sworn.' These forms are used to express actions in the past and are essential in constructing past tenses and perfect tenses in English.

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

The past simple form 'swore' is used to describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. It doesn't matter when the action happened; the only important aspect is that it is not happening now. For example. 'She swore she would never speak to him again after the argument.' This sentence indicates that the action of swearing not to speak to him again occurred at a specific moment in the past.

Can you give an example of how to use the past participle 'sworn' in a sentence?

The past participle 'sworn' is often used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses or the passive voice. Here are examples in the present perfect tense and the passive voice. Present Perfect Tense. 'He has sworn to keep the secret.' This sentence means that at some point in the past, he made a promise to keep the secret, and this promise is still considered in effect. Passive Voice. 'The oath was sworn by the entire crew.' This sentence is in the passive voice and indicates that the action of swearing the oath was done by the crew at a past time. Are there any common mistakes to avoid when using 'swore' and 'sworn'