Past Tense for Break: Breaked, Broke or Brake? (Pronunciation & Usage)

By Benjamin Essek

past tense for break

What Is The Past Tense For Break?

You don’t exactly know “arise” in the past tense, particularly what the past tense of break is? Break in past tense differs much from its base form. You can have it spelled B-R-O-K-E, while the infinitive style, verb break, is B-R-E-A-K. 

Here comes a short table describing five distinct forms of verbs:

Base Form/To-infinitive (V1) break
Present Form (V2) breaks
Past Form (V3) broke
Past Participle Form (V4) broken
Present Participle/Gerund/Subjunctive Verb Form (V5) breaking

Watch this video to learn the ins and outs of how the tense verb forms:

Break, Breaks, Breaking, Broke or Broken

Beyond that, curious about the 12 verb tenses of “break”? Please visit this website to learn the distinctions between active and passive voices. 

How Do You Spell This Verb? 

As seen in the Oxford English Dictionary, you can get insights into how to enunciate this verb in various English dialects. Look no further; practice it at once with this table below:

Form of word Pronunciation
British English American English
break /breɪk/ /breɪk/
breaks /breɪks/ /breɪks/
broke /brəʊk/ /brəʊk/
broken /ˈbrəʊkən/ /ˈbrəʊkən/
breaking /ˈbreɪkɪŋ/ /ˈbreɪkɪŋ/

What Is The Meaning Of “Break Past Tense”? – Examples And How To Use

Now, you should grab the “break in past tense”. Then, to polish your grammar and linguistic resources, check out these examples and definitions, which are as follows:

  1. To be separated and damaged into two or multiple parts due to force; damage something.

E.g.:

  • The glass box broke under the bottle’s weight inside it.
  • The fragile vase had already broken due to his violent acts.
  1. To stop doing something for a while to drink or eat.

E.g.:

  • Their sleep was broken by noise from next door.
  • The tranquility has been broken by his loud voice.
  1. To not keep a promise, to do something against the law.

E.g.:

  • True, I was guilty of breaking the law and should have been punished for it.
  • The staff had broken the company’s rules, so he had to compensate.
  1. To interrupt something and make it end suddenly.

E.g.:

  • Everyone laughed out loud, which broke the spell entirely.
  • The rude person had broken the appealing ambiance at large.
  1. To cut the skin’s surface and make it bleed.

E.g.:

  • The dog bit her yet did not break her skin.
  • Lucky you, the knife hasn’t broken your skin because of the mild pressure.
  1. To stop doing something for a while to drink or eat.

E.g.:

  • During the night, they could not sleep as the sounds broke their sleep.
  • Before they left the bedroom, the weird and spooky sounds had broken their sleep.
  1. To stop working due to damage; to stop something from working.

E.g.:

  • The washing machine was broken because of me.
  • Due to my recklessness, the TV has been broken since last Sunday.
  1. To do one thing faster and better, etc., than anyone did it before.

E.g.:

  • John broke the 200 meters record worldwide.
  • This competent kid who had broken the new record would receive a standing ovation.

Quick Exercises

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Created on By Benjamin Essek

Past Tense For Break

Choose the correct verb tense to fill in the (a), (b), (c), and (d):

1 / 7

Only once afterward in fifteen years was their constant companionship ……… for more than a few days at a time.

2 / 7

The only thing that kept her from ……….. down was that Jonathan and Destiny needed her.

3 / 7

He said Destiny's fever had ……… and if she continued to improve, they would take the tent off her bed in a few days.

4 / 7

I always heard marriage could ……….. up a good friendship.

5 / 7

They squawked and pecked at each other as she ………. a trail from the tire to the coop.

6 / 7

Across the lake, the beginning glow of the late summer sun ……….. through the low clouds, signaling an end to the rain.

7 / 7

One of Helen's old habits, which is most vital and challenging to correct, is a tendency to ………. things.

Your score is

The average score is 33%

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FAQs

Is This Work Just A Verb?

No. “Break” is an irregular verb (like the verb “let”) and also plays its role as a noun. Being a noun, it indicates many meanings, including:

  1. A place where something, notably a bone in your body, has broken.
  2. A period when something stops before starting again.
  3. A period between lessons at school.
  4. A short period when a radio or television show should stop for advertisements.
  5. A short period is when you stop what you are doing for eating, drinking, resting, etc.

Are There Any Obsolete Forms Of “Break”?

That is “brake” – the rare form of the mentioned irregular verb in the past tense.

Breaked Or Broke, Or Brake (archaic)?

“Breaked” has no meaning in English or even represents any form of our today’s verb. On the other hand, “broke” and “brake” are the correct answers regarding the simple past form of “break”. Yet, the former is more wide-reaching, and the latter is just archaic.

What Is The Past Participle Of Break?

As stated above, “break” is “broken” in the past-participle form.