Past Tense of “break”
The past simple of “break” is “broke” and the past participle is “broken”. Below are the pronunciation, three example sentences, the mistake learners make most often, and a short drill to check yourself.
Forms of “break”
break – broke – broken
separate into pieces; stop working
- Base form
- break/breɪk/
- Past simple
- broke/broʊk/
- Past participle
- broken/ˈbroʊkən/
- -ing form
- breaking
- He / she / it
- breaks
Pronunciation (US)
Quick practice
5 questions. Type the missing form.
Example sentences
Three everyday sentences that show how the forms are used.
Past simple
I broke my phone screen.
Past participle
Someone has broken the window.
Passive
The record was broken last year.
The most common mistake
Wrong
The printer is broke.
Correct
The printer is broken.
As an adjective or in the passive, use the participle “broken”. (“Broke” as an adjective is informal and means “having no money”.)
Verbs with the same pattern
All 3 forms different. Learn these together.