What Is The Past Tense Of Dream?
While many other verbs only have one past tense form, the past tense for dream accepts two correct forms: dreamed and dreamt.
Although both are accurate, dreamt is more frequently used in British and American English. Compared to Americans, the British frequently use dreamt, albeit not as frequently as dreamed.
Because we cannot exactly determine whether “Dream” is a regular or irregular verb, the past participle of dream also has two options like the past tense: dreamed and dreamt.
| Form | Verb |
| Bare | dream |
| Present participle | dreaming |
| 3rd person singular | dreams |
| Past | dreamt/dreamed |
| Past participle | dreamt/dreamed |
Let’s find out more verbs with two past tense in this video:
How Do You Spell Dreamt?
First, “dream” and “dreamed” have the same vowels: the long sound of /i:/. The only difference between them is the ending sound of /d/. Thus, do not forget /d/ sound while pronouncing “dreamed”.
The last one – dreamt is the most distinctive word because its main vowel is /ɛ/. Put your tongue at your mouth’s mid-height position to produce this sound. Then, move it in the front of your mouth. Your mouth and lips muscles should be at ease. With your lips in this posture, vibrate the vocal cords.
Let’s check the IPA to know the correct pronunciation:
| Form Of Word | Pronunciation | |
| US | UK | |
| dream | /driːm/ | /driːm/ |
| dreamed | /driːmd/ | /driːmd/ |
| dreamt | /drɛmt/ | /drɛmt/ |
Definition And How To Use The Word
This common word has only two meanings. Please note them down while learning English:
- to have a succession of thoughts, events, and emotions while you are sleeping
- to imagine what you want to take place
If you want to describe an idea or discuss something with the meaning above in the past, you must use “dreamed or dreamt” (dream past tense) instead of the bare form.
Let’s refer to some sentence examples to learn how to apply the word in English while speaking or writing:
- Last night, I dreamt that my best friend and I fought due to a conflict about love.
- She dreamed that she witnessed a terrorist slay a kid.
- Timmy dreamed about his ex-girlfriend last night.
- I never dreamt that I could catch the opportunity to get that job.
Some Exercises To Practice
His name is Benjamin Essek – The founder of Grammar Wiki. He is an English native speaker and has joined many English classes, learning communities to support other people with this common language as well.