What Is the Past Tense of Grow?
The past tense of grow is grew. This is an irregular verb, so it does not follow the standard pattern of adding -ed. You use grew when talking about something that increased in size, developed, or came into existence at a specific time in the past. For example: “The plant grew quickly last spring.”
Quick Answer
Past tense: grew
Past participle: grown
Present participle: growing
Third person singular: grows
Use grew for simple past actions. Use grown with auxiliary verbs like have, has, or had (e.g., “She has grown a lot since last year”).
Understanding the Verb Grow
Grow is a versatile verb. It can describe physical growth, personal development, financial increase, or even the act of cultivating something. Because it is irregular, many learners mistakenly add -ed to form the past tense. The correct forms are:
| Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| grow | grew | grown |
When to Use Grew (Past Tense)
Use grew when the action happened and finished in the past. It is the simple past form. Here are common contexts:
- Physical growth: “The puppy grew into a large dog.”
- Personal or professional development: “He grew more confident after the training.”
- Financial or numerical increase: “The company’s revenue grew by 20% last quarter.”
- Emotional or relational change: “They grew apart over the years.”
Formal vs. Informal Tone
Grew works in both formal and informal settings. In a formal email, you might write: “Our team grew significantly during the fiscal year.” In casual conversation, you could say: “I grew up in a small town.” The word itself is neutral, but the surrounding language sets the tone.
Email and Conversation Context
In professional emails, grew is common for reporting results: “Our customer base grew by 15%.” In everyday speech, it is used for personal stories: “My interest in photography grew after that trip.”
When to Use Grown (Past Participle)
The past participle grown is used with helping verbs like have, has, or had to form perfect tenses. It is also used in passive voice.
- Present perfect: “She has grown very skilled at her job.”
- Past perfect: “The tree had grown taller than the house before we moved.”
- Passive voice: “These vegetables are grown without pesticides.”
Comparison Table: Grow Forms in Context
| Tense | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Plants grow toward the sun. | General truth or habit. |
| Simple Past | The child grew three inches last year. | Completed action in the past. |
| Present Perfect | They have grown a beautiful garden. | Action with relevance to the present. |
| Past Perfect | By 2010, the business had grown rapidly. | Action completed before another past event. |
| Future Perfect | By next year, she will have grown into a leader. | Action that will be completed by a future time. |
Natural Examples
Here are examples that sound natural in real writing and conversation:
- “My grandmother grew roses in her backyard every summer.”
- “The startup grew from two employees to fifty in just three years.”
- “I grew tired of the constant noise.”
- “His reputation as a fair manager grew over time.”
- “The city has grown so much since I was a child.”
Common Mistakes
Learners often make these errors with grow:
- Mistake: “The plant growed fast.”
Correction: “The plant grew fast.” - Mistake: “She has grew a lot.”
Correction: “She has grown a lot.” (Use past participle after has.) - Mistake: “They grow up in the 1990s.”
Correction: “They grew up in the 1990s.” (Past tense needed.) - Mistake: “The company grown quickly last year.”
Correction: “The company grew quickly last year.” (Use simple past, not past participle, without a helper verb.)
Better Alternatives and When to Use Them
Sometimes grew is the best word, but in certain contexts, a synonym might be more precise:
- Increased – Use for numbers or statistics: “Sales increased by 10%.” (More formal than grew.)
- Developed – Use for skills or ideas: “Her skills developed over the course.”
- Expanded – Use for physical space or scope: “The company expanded into new markets.”
- Matured – Use for emotional or intellectual growth: “He matured after the experience.”
- Emerged – Use for something that came into being: “A new trend emerged in the industry.”
Choose grew when you want a simple, natural word that works in almost any situation. Use alternatives when you need a more specific or formal tone.
Mini Practice: Test Yourself
Fill in the blank with the correct form of grow (grow, grew, grown, growing). Answers are below.
- Last summer, the vegetables in our garden ______ very well.
- She has ______ into a confident speaker.
- The children are ______ taller every day.
- By the time we arrived, the crowd had ______ to over a thousand people.
Answers
- grew
- grown
- growing
- grown
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is growed ever correct?
No. Growed is not a standard English word. The correct past tense is always grew.
2. What is the difference between grew and grown?
Grew is the simple past tense, used alone for completed actions. Grown is the past participle, used with auxiliary verbs like have, has, or had.
3. Can grow be used as a transitive verb?
Yes. For example: “Farmers grow corn.” Here, grow takes a direct object. In the past tense: “Farmers grew corn last season.”
4. How do I use grow in the passive voice?
Use the past participle grown with a form of be. Example: “Organic vegetables are grown on this farm.”
For more help with irregular verb forms, explore our Past Tense Forms section or visit our FAQ page. If you have questions about how we create our guides, please see our Editorial Policy.
