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What’s the Past Tense of Burn? Burned or Burnt?

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What’s the past tense of “burn”?

Both burned and burnt are correct past tenses of burn. This refers to a state or event when someone or something is on fire, or to destroy or injure someone or something by heat or fire.

👍🏼Usage Note

She accidentally burned her hand on the hot stove.

He burn his finger while lighting the candle.

  • British English uses burned and burnt both as the past tense and adjective forms.
  • US English uses burned as the past tense verb form; as an adjective, both burned and burnt are common.

Forms of the verb “burn”

Present Past Future
simple I burn I burned/burnt I will burn
continuous I am burning I was burning I will be burning
perfect I have burned/burnt I had burned/burnt I will have burned/burnt
perfect continuous I have been burning I had been burning I will have been burning

Is “burned”/“burnt” regular or irregular?

Burned takes the regular verb conjugation with the suffix “ed.” Burnt is the irregular verb form. Generally speaking, the difference in use depends on geography.

Other irregular verbs like “burn”

Base Verb Past Tense Past Participle
dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
burn burned/burnt burned/burnt
sleep slept slept
leap leapt/leaped leapt/leaped

Burnt/Burned in sentence examples

Word Form Examples
Present Tense (“burn”) Fresh leaves will burn slowly with billows of smoke. (future tense)
A welcoming fire was burning in the fireplace. (present continuous)
Don’t burn your bridges behind you.
Past Tense (“burned”/”burnt”) This perfume smells like burnt cotton candy. (adjective)
I burned my hand on the stove yesterday.
He accidentally burned the cake while baking it.
Past Participle (“burnt”/”burned”) The toast was burnt to a crisp.
She had burnt her hand on the hot stove while getting dinner prepared.
The house had burnt down before the firefighters arrived.
Adjective Usage (e.g., “burnt toast”) Nick actually likes the taste of burnt/burned toast.
Emile needs a holiday because he is burnt/burned out.
All that was left of the farm was the shell of a burnt-/burned-out barn.
“Get burned/burnt” Phrase Usage Try not to get burned/burnt by the car salesman!
Kyle always insults me. Every time I see him, I get burned/burnt.

Learn more about grammar

Worksheet: irregular verbs

Question 1 of 10

According to the post, what is the primary difference between the forms “burned” and “burnt”?



Which incorrect verb form of “burn” is specifically highlighted in the post’s examples of mistakes?



In which major variety of English, as stated in the post, is “burned” primarily used as the simple past tense verb form?



According to the post, which form(s) are common when “burn” is used as an adjective in US English?



In British English, according to the post, which form(s) are acceptable for both the simple past tense verb and the adjective?



The old letters were all in the fireplace.



She accidentally her hand on the hot stove.



He had all the documents before the police got there.



The toast was slightly .



His skin was red from being by the sun.





FAQs

Are both burned and burnt correct?
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Yes, according to the post, both “burned” and “burnt” are accepted as correct past tense and past participle forms of the verb “burn.”

Is ‘burned’ regular or irregular?
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The post states that “burned” is the regular form because it adds “-ed” to the base verb. “Burnt,” however, is considered the irregular verb form.

Does US/UK English usage differ?
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Yes, usage depends on geography. British English often uses both “burned” and “burnt” for verbs and adjectives, while US English prefers “burned” for verbs but uses either for adjectives.

Is ‘burnt’ used as an adjective?
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Yes, according to the post, “burnt” can be used as an adjective. It mentions that British English uses both “burned” and “burnt” as adjectives, and US English uses both as adjectives too.

What common mistake is made with ‘burn’?
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A common mistake mentioned is using the base form “burn” directly as a past tense verb, like “He burn his finger,” instead of adding “-ed” or “-t” to form “burned” or “burnt.”

Yash, D. "What’s the Past Tense of Burn? Burned or Burnt?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/is-it-burned-or-burnt-whats-the-past-tense-of-burn/.

Sources

  1. Grammarist.com, burnt/burned.
  2. Etymonline, burn.
  3. High School English and Grammar Composition, P.C. Wren

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