Underwrite past tense

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Meaning of underwrite

to assume financial responsibility for an activity or entity by providing a guarantee of payment in case of loss or damage.

Infinitive

Word: underwrite /ˌʌn.dəˈraɪt/
Examples:
  • 1. Insurance companies underwrite policies for individuals and businesses to protect against various risks.
  • 2. Banks often underwrite large loans for corporations looking to expand their operations.
  • 3. To underwrite an event means to provide financial support and assume any potential risks involved.

Past Simple

Word: underwrote /ˌʌndərˈroʊt/
Examples:
  • 1. The bank underwrote the new business venture, providing the necessary financial backing.
  • 2. She underwrote the community project last year, ensuring it had enough funds to proceed.
  • 3. The insurance company underwrote policies for thousands of homeowners before the storm hit.

Past Participle

Word: underwritten /ˌʌn.dəˈrɪt.ən/
Examples:
  • 1. The new policy has been underwritten by a leading insurance company.
  • 2. All the loans were underwritten based on strict financial criteria.
  • 3. The event was underwritten by several generous sponsors.

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Bare infinitive

  1. a. To express a habitual or general truth about one’s professional activity in insurance or financially supporting activities.
    Example. I underwrite loans for small businesses.
    Example. My company underwrites several highprofile events each year.
  2. b. To describe a current, recurring action in the context of financial backing or insurance guarantees.
    Example. I underwrite loans for small businesses.
    Example. My company underwrites several highprofile events each year.

Past Simple

  1. a. To denote a completed action in the past where the person or entity took on financial risk or provided guarantees.
    Example. The bank underwrote the new development project last year.
    Example. They underwrote the ambitious startup in its early stages.
  2. b. To recount a specific instance in the past where financial backing or insurance was provided.
    Example. The bank underwrote the new development project last year.
    Example. They underwrote the ambitious startup in its early stages.

Past Participle

  1. a. To be used in perfect tenses for actions completed at some point before now (recently or in the distant past) related to financial backing or insurance.
  2. Example (Present Perfect). We have underwritten several projects that focus on renewable energy.
  3. b. To form passive voice sentences where the emphasis is on the action of financial backing or insurance, regardless of who performs it.
  4. Example (Passive Voice). The documentary was underwritten by a wellknown philanthropist.
  5. c. To describe actions in the pluperfect that show a financial or insurancerelated action was completed before another past action.
  6. Example (Pluperfect). By the time the market crashed, the deals had already been underwritten.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing Forms

A common mistake is confusing the past simple form of 'underwrite' (which is 'underwrote') with its past participle form (which is 'underwritten'). For example, mistakenly saying 'I have underwrote the document yesterday' instead of the correct form 'I underwrote the document yesterday' for past simple, or 'I have underwritten the document' for the present perfect tense. The confusion usually stems from not distinguishing between the actions completed in the past (past simple) and actions that have an effect on the present (present perfect).

— 02

Regularizing the Verb

Another mistake involves treating 'underwrite' as a regular verb, thus incorrectly forming its past simple and past participle. Some might incorrectly say 'underwrited' instead of 'underwrote' for the past simple, and 'underwrited' instead of 'underwritten' for the past participle. This error happens because many English verbs form their past tenses by adding -ed to the base form. However, 'underwrite' is an irregular verb, meaning it does not follow this pattern, and its correct past forms are 'underwrote' and 'underwritten'.

— 03

Misusing Past Participle

The past participle 'underwritten' must be used with an auxiliary verb (like 'have' or 'had'), but a common mistake is using it without any. For instance, saying 'The project underwritten by me' instead of the correct 'The project was underwritten by me' or 'The project has been underwritten by me.' This mistake disrupts the grammatical structure, leading to unclear or incorrect sentences.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'underwrite'?

The past simple form of 'underwrite' is 'underwrote'. This form is used to describe an action that was completed at a specific time in the past. For example, 'Last year, the insurance company underwrote hundreds of policies.'

How is the past participle of 'underwrite' used in a sentence?

The past participle of 'underwrite' is 'underwritten'. It is commonly used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses or the passive voice. For example, in the present perfect tense, you might say, 'The bank has underwritten several large loans this quarter.' In a passive voice sentence, you could say, 'The new insurance policy was underwritten by a team of experts.'

Can you give an example of a sentence using 'underwrite' in the past simple tense?

Certainly! Here's an example. 'The company underwrote the event two months ago, ensuring all necessary financial support.' This sentence indicates that the action of providing financial support through underwriting was completed in the past. Is there a difference in meaning when using 'underwrote' versus 'underwritten'