What Is The Past Tense Of Steal?
The answer is “stole” because this verb is an intransitive verb in past tense and other tenses. It has its own form for each English tense.
Unlike other common verbs (regular verbs) that can be changed into the past tense by adding “d” or “ed,” “steal” is an intransitive verb having its different form in past tense based on no rules (like smite or shake).
You also can see other forms of steal in the below table:
| Present Simple | steal/steals |
| Past Simple | stole |
| Past Participle | stolen |
| Present Participle/Gerund | stealing |
How Do You Spell Stole And The Correct Pronunciation
The pronunciation of stole is /stəʊl/ and you can hear the negative sound reading in this video (you also distinguish between stool and stole pronunciation).
The table below shows how the word “steal” is pronounced in a range of British and American English dialects.
|
Form of Word |
Pronunciation |
|
| British English |
American English |
|
|
steal |
/stiːl/ | /stiːl/ |
| stole | /stəʊl/ |
/stəʊl/ |
|
stolen |
/ˈstəʊlən/ | /ˈstəʊlən/ |
| stealing | /ˈstiːlɪŋ/ |
/ˈstiːlɪŋ/ |
Basin on this table, there is no difference between them. The supplementary information we have supplied is based on the reliable online edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English.
The Definition Of The Verb Steal And Its usage
Go further into the verb’s definition now. Again, never underestimate the genuine worth of this one, as it will help you seem more sophisticated once you start interacting with others.
Read down to investigate the explanations and samples linked to this subject to have a thorough grasp of it:
- To take anything from another person, store, etc., with no intention of giving it back or making restitution.
Example: If I find you stealing again, I’ll have to call the cops.
2. To sneak around undetected by others by keeping a low profile
Example: To avoid waking the infant, she stole out the bedroom.
3. In baseball, you try to get to the next base before another player on your team hits the ball and increase your chances of scoring.
Example: In an attempt to steal second, he struck out.
Also, there are some idioms that combine the verb steal with another verb to create a particular meaning.
4. Steal a glance/look (at somebody/something): The act of quickly glancing at someone or something so as not to be caught looking.
Example: He usually steals a glance at her girlfriend to see her reaction.
5. Steal somebody’s heart: to arouse romantic interest in oneself
Example: Romeo stole Juliet’s heart because of his handsome outlook.
6. Steal a kiss (from somebody) : make a quick, unexpected, or covert pass at kissing someone
Example: My son likes stealing a kiss from his dad.
7. Steal a march (on somebody): to beat one’s competition by getting a head start on a task
Example: The corporation is exploring opportunities to steal a march on its rivals.
8. Steal the show: to stand out from the crowd and receive more positive feedback than anyone else
Example: Last year, this girl stole the show in a summer competition.
9. Steal somebody’s thunder: to achieve the desired effect on another person, often by mimicking their own actions or words.
Example: Harry had stolen my thunder after finishing his projects.
All these meanings of the verb “steal” are provided by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.
Practice Exercises
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.