What’s the past tense of “catch”?
The verb catch is defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary as to, ”[something/somebody] to stop and hold a moving object or person, especially in your hands”.
| present | past | future | |
| simple | I catch | I caught | I will catch |
| continuous | I am catching | I was catching | I will be catching |
| perfect | I have caught | I had caught | I will have caught |
| perfect continuous | I have been catching | I had been catching | I will have been catching |
Caught is in the simple past: We caught the 12.15 from Oxford.
Caught is the past participle: You’ve caught me at a bad time.
Here’s a helpful chart that illustrates verb forms with 2 verb conjugations, like catch/caught:
| present | past | past participle |
| teach | taught | taught |
| buy | bought | bought |
| bring | brought | brought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| seek | sought | sought |
“Catch” / “caught”, used in sentences
| Examples: catch, used in sentences |
|---|
| She managed to catch the keys as they fell. ‘Throw me over that towel, will you?’ ‘OK. Catch!’ The roof was leaking and I had to use a bucket to catch the drips. How many fish did you catch? |
| Examples: caught, used in sentences |
|---|
| I threw the bag in the air and she caught it. The dog caught the stick in its mouth. You’ve caught me at a bad time. I think I must have caught this cold from you. Over the years, the mystery has caught the popular imagination. 5. She caught herself wondering whether she had made a mistake. |
Practice questions: tenses of ‘catch’
| Complete the sentence with the correct verb form. | Options: |
|---|---|
| 1. You’ve ___ me by surprise! | a. catch b. caught c. catching d. catches |
| 2. He ___ her up in his arms. | a. caught b. have caught c. catch d. to catch |
| 3. I must go—I have a train ___. | a. caught b. have caught c. catch d. to catch |
| 4. I’m ___ the 9:30 bus. | a. caught b. have caught c. catch d. catching |
| 5. How many fish did you ___? | a. caught b. have caught c. catch d. catching |
| 6. I think I must ___ this cold from you. | a. caught b. have caught c. catch d. catching |
| Select the tense the sentence is written in: | |
| 7. I caught him when he fell. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
| 8. The dog had caught the stick in its mouth. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
| 9. The police say they are doing all they can to catch the culprits. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect continuous |
| 10. Our cat is hopeless at catching mice. | a. simple present b. present continuous c. simple past d. past perfect |
Answers
- b
- a
- c
- d
- c
- b
- c
- d
- a
- b
Synonyms of catch
- spot
- glimpse
- see
- grasp
Origin of the word catch
From etymology online on catch (v.):
From Latin captare “to take, hold,” frequentative of capere “to take, hold”.
Learn more about verbs
| Types of verbs & verb tenses | what’s the past tense of …? |
|---|---|
| forms of ‘to be’ | … seek? |
| auxiliary verbs | … teach? |
| present tense | … tear? |
| future tense | … buy? |
| past tense | … read? |
| perfect tense | … ring? |
| transitive vs. intransitive | … drive? |
| participles | … throw? |
| irregular verbs | … lead? |
| modals | … win? |
Sources
- Etymology online, origin of catch.
- Definition of catch.
