Past Tense of “see”
The past simple of “see” is “saw” and the past participle is “seen”. Below are the pronunciation, three example sentences, the mistake learners make most often, and a short drill to check yourself.
Forms of “see”
see – saw – seen
notice with your eyes
- Base form
- see/siː/
- Past simple
- saw/sɔː/
- Past participle
- seen/siːn/
- -ing form
- seeing
- He / she / it
- sees
Pronunciation (US)
Quick practice
5 questions. Type the missing form.
Example sentences
Three everyday sentences that show how the forms are used.
Past simple
We saw a great movie on Saturday.
Past participle
Have you seen my keys?
Passive
The singer was seen at the airport.
The most common mistake
Wrong
I seen him yesterday.
Correct
I saw him yesterday.
“Seen” needs a helper (have, has, had, was). With “yesterday”, use the past simple “saw”.
Verbs with the same pattern
All 3 forms different. Learn these together.