If you’ve been trying to find the past tense of the verb “seek, the answer is right before you. You might be thinking, “Isn’t past tense just adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’?
Well, hold your horses, because “seek” is one of those little irregular verbs that throws us a curveball. It’s like the gnome of grammar, hiding its past tense in a secret garden of “oughts.”
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Contents
So, What’s The Deal With “Seek”?
Do you remember it means to search, to look for, to try to find something? Imagine an explorer trekking through the jungle, machete in hand, “seeking” a lost civilization or a scientist peering through a microscope, “seeking” the cure for a disease.
Pretty cool, right?
Now, fast forward to the end of their adventures. The explorer stumbles upon a crumbling temple, the scientist makes a breakthrough discovery.
How Do We Describe Their Past Actions?
That’s where “sought” comes in, like a trusty guiding us through the mountains of past tense. The explorer has sought the lost city.
The scientist has sought the cure. Did you see how “sought” keeps the same vowel sound as “seek,” but adds a sneaky “t” to mark its passage into the past? It’s like a little time capsule, holding the memory of their quest.
Here Are Some Use Cases To Help You Understand More
The scientist “sought” a cure for the disease for years, but alas, it eluded him.
As a child, I “sought” solace in reading fantastical stories.
We “sought” shelter from the storm in a quaint tavern.
The lost puppy “sought” its mother, whimpering in the night.
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But Wait, There’s More!
“Sought” isn’t just for past tense, it’s also the past participle. That means it can play nice with helping verbs like “have” or “be” to create those fancy perfect tenses and passive voice constructions.
For example:
The treasure has been sought for centuries. (present perfect passive)
The scientist was sought after by many research labs. (past perfect passive)
See how versatile “sought” is? It’s like the chameleon of verb tenses, blending in with different grammatical structures to tell a story.
But What About “Seeked”? Can’t We Use That?
Here’s the thing, my guy. While technically “Seeked” exists in some dictionaries, it’s considered non-standard and not widely accepted in formal writing.
Think of it as the awkward cousin of “sought,” the one who shows up to family reunions but no one wants to talk to him.
So, stick with “sought,” your trusty ally in the world of past tense verbs. It’s the champion, the hero, the one who will never let you down (grammatically speaking, at least).
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Final Thoughts
It’s always a good thing to communicate, and you can do this by banishing “Seeked” from your vocabulary. The past tense of “seek” is “sought” and that’s what you should use.
By using the correct verb tense, you’re making sure your message is understood loud and clear, without confusion. And keep seeking, you’ll find everything you “sought” for.