Irregular verb
take
/teɪk/
- Base
- take
- Past simple
- took
- Past participle
- taken
Usage
took names a single occasion; taken needs have/has/had, as in have taken.
Meaning
- to move or carry something to another place
Example
She took the books back to the library.
He took the wrong turn on the way home.
They have taken every precaution possible.
Teaching note
Take changes to took in the simple past and taken in perfect or passive constructions. Its many meanings keep the same three-form pattern.
Common mistake
The phrase ‘It was took away’ is incorrect because a passive construction requires the participle, not took.
Correction: Say ‘They took it away’ in active simple past, or ‘It was taken away’ when the sentence uses the passive voice.