Past Tense Of Shy: Shied or Shyed? (Pronunciation & Usage)

What Is The Past Tense Of Shy?

The shy past tense is shied. Shy is a regular verb, so it follows the rule of adding -ed at the end of the basic verb form. Verbs ending in -y consonant change -y to -i before adding -ed, so you can omit the letter -y and add -ied at the end of the word to get the V2 of shy.

Although the V3 form of shy is the same as the V2’s, the V3 form always needs to be followed by auxiliary verbs (have, has, or had) to describe an action or event that is happening around a specific time but is no longer happening in the present.

Other verb conjugations of shy are “shies” in 3rd person singular present tense, shying in the present participle tense, and shied in the past participle tense. You can watch the table below to make it clearer.

How do you spell shy and shied naturally? The below videos will help you.

How to say shy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2AnCB33FEo 

How to say shied: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4zKqhw4eNk 

Pronunciation

According to the phonetic rule, the IPA transcription of shy is /ʃaɪ/, and of shied is /ʃaɪd/. You can watch the table below for more details.

Definitions And How To Use Shied?

What is the definition of shy? According to Collins Dictionary, the English verb shy has 2 following meanings:

• (At something) (of a horse) To suddenly move sideways or backwards/ turn away, especially because it is afraid or surprised.

Example: My horse always shies at the unfamiliar noise. It is extremely alert to strange noises and at night. I used to hear it squeal a few nights just because a few rats ran past.

• (Old-fashioned & informal) (usually followed by adv/prep): To throw something suddenly, in a sideways movement.

Example: We usually shy stones at the old tree in the village. This is also the place where the entertainment activities of the children of the neighboring village take place.

The past tense shied has the same meaning as its finite form. Such as the regular past form of other words, the shy past tense is used to talk about the action that happened and completed in the past. You can check out the examples below to have better understanding.

Examples:

• His horse shied violently at a gorse bush because it could smell danger ahead. Although sharp thorns pierced its legs, it still managed to run as fast as possible to the neighboring village to seek help.
• Lately the news has often featured incidents of stone throwing at trains and tracks. Several kids at around 8 grade levels shied stones onto a moving train last night, breaking a window and injuring one passenger.
• When one of new students makes a terrible mistake, causing a tragic accident. After the accident, Carole is done with riding forever. His horse shied after that accident and it’s usually quite sensitive to its surroundings.

Exercises

1

Created on December 09, 2022 By Benjamin

Past Tense Of Shy

Choose the correct verb tense to fill in the blank:

1 / 10

This horse was left behind because it ran slower than the others in the herd. Yesterday I went to buy it. It ...... at my enthusiasm because it probably thought no one would need it anymore.

shy

shies

shied

shying

2 / 10

Yesterday I saw two suspicious men with two suitcases entering the Boulerband hotel, so I called the police. They ...... both suitcases away as soon as they saw the police.

shies

shied

shy

shying

3 / 10

Jane: That horse ...... at me when I approached it. What's wrong with him? Doesn't he like me?

Coach: It was abused by the previous owner, so it was quite timid.

Jane: Oh, poor him.

shied

shy

shying

shies

4 / 10

The horses … at the arrival of the owner, but now they are not afraid anymore because they have been moved to another place.

shied

shy

shying

shies

5 / 10

The horse … , throwing Kyle from the saddle.

shy

shied

shying

shies

6 / 10

Agencies do not have extensive ties and do not play a major role in wartime often … away from conflicts.

shy

shied

shying

shies

7 / 10

Yet several sciences have consistently … away from the tasks.

shy

shied

shying

shies

8 / 10

It does not mean that we will shy away from handling difficult projects that may cause risks.

shies

shied

shying

shy

9 / 10

Being asked to debate on a committee may be something they tend to … away from at the beginning.

shies

shy

shying

shied

10 / 10

Two years ago, these changes weren't fresh, and residents there had … away from them.

shies

shy

shying

shied

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FAQs

What Are Synonyms And Antonyms Of Shy?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the synonyms of the verb shy are blench, flinch, quail, recoil, shrink, start, and wince.

The antonyms of shy are cuddle, nestle, nuzzle, snooze [chiefly dialect], snuggle, curl up, crouch, and huddle.

“Shy” Is a Transitive Or Intransitive Verb?

Shy is a transitive verb. It doesn’t need to be followed by any object or prepositions because it can make a complete sentence on its own. For example, the horse shies at the loud noise.

Is Shy An Adjective?

Yes. According to the Oxford Dictionary, shy is also an adjective. It means nervous or embarrassed about something (usually speaking to people) or afraid of doing something/ being involved in something.

Example 1: This bashful child was too shy to speak in public. This sort of person is always afraid of daily challenges. They are called introverts and usually just want to socialize with introverts like them.

Example 2: I bought a new airdrop and wanted to give it as a birthday present to my girlfriend. However, she is a shy person, and she refused it.

Benjamin Essek

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.