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What’s the Past Tense of Grow? Grew or Grown?

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Grow/grew/grown in text message conversation.
Grow/grew/grown in text message conversation.

What’s the past tense of grow: grew or grown?

Which is it: grew or grown? What’s the correct past tense of the (present tense verb) grow? To keep it simple, grow is one of those irregular verbs with 3 verb forms. All this means is that the verb grow changes between the present tense, past tense and its past participle form.

👍🏼Usage Note

I have known her for five years. (present perfect)
She knew the answer immediately. (simple past)
I have knew her for five years. (incorrect past participle)
She has know the answer. (incorrect verb form)

Since ‘grow‘ is grammatically an ‘irregular verb’ (it does not end in –ed in either of its past forms), the word grow is grouped with other, similarly irregular verbs that likewise have two past tense conjugations:

base verb past tense past participle
grow grew grown
give gave given
begin began begun
sing sang sung
draw drew drawn
ring rang rung
drink drank drunk
Irregular verbs with two past tenses.

The meaning of “grow”

The verb and word, grow, defined by the Oxford Learner’s dictionary, is understood as, “to increase in size, number, strength or quality.” Another understanding (defined by Merriam-Webster’s, grow) is ‘to spring up and develop to maturity’. An example of the word in conversation could be, ‘You’ve grown (past participle) so much since the last time I saw you!’

1. To grow is in the present tense: The puppies grow quickly during the first six months.

2. Grew is the simple past: Her media empire grew from quite small beginnings.

3. Growing is the present participle: She is growing in confidence all the time.

4. Grown is the past participle form of the verb: You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!

When to use “grew” vs. “grown”

simple past The company profits grew by 5 per cent last year.
present perfect Nick‘s grown almost an inch in the last month.
grew vs. grown

The sentence in the present perfect uses an apostrophe ‘s after Nick’s name. We use apostrophes to show a possessive, but we also use them to form a contraction; i.e., a shortened form of Nick has.

We would not say ‘Nick grown almost an inch…’ because it misses the auxiliary verb to complement the participle ‘grown‘ in the sentence. Conversely, if we were to exchange the participle grown with the past tense grew, the sentence would be correct: Nick grew almost an inch in the last month.

So, we use the participle form of grow (“grown”) with auxiliaries, like had/have (to create perfect and continuous tenses in grammar). Simple tense constructions, on the other hand, do not use auxiliary verbs to denote an action or event’s relation to time.

Sentences with “grow” (present simple)

That number will grow to two billion users in 2025. (future tense)

She is growing in confidence all the time. (present participle)

Well before a billionth of a second had elapsed the universe started to grow exponentially.

The puppies grow quickly during the first six months.

Newborns grow quickly so cherish that phase of life.

Sentence examples with “grew” (past tense)

Her media empire grew from quite small beginnings.

The company profits grew by 5 per cent last year.

The cut edges of the wound grew together

The project grew out of a mere suggestion

She grew pale at the devastating news.

💡Study Tip

Practice using the verb in different tenses with example sentences to memorize the correct forms.

Sentences with “grown” (past participle)

The city’s population has grown from about 50 000 to over a million in 20 years.

The family has grown in size recently.

The Chinese economy has grown at a record pace.

You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!

Nick’s grown almost an inch in the last month.

Synonyms of the word grow

  • age
  • advance
  • cultivate
  • develop
  • mature

Origin of the word grow

From etymology online on grow (v.):

Old English growan (of plants) “to flourish, increase, develop, get bigger” from Proto-Germanic gro- from PIE root ghre- “to grow, become green”.

Other commonly confused verb tenses

Learn more about verbs

Worksheet

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Techniques writers use to enhance their writing and convey messages effectively.

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Sources

  1. Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of grow.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/sew. Accessed 6 March, 2023.
  2. “Grow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grow. Accessed 6 Mar. 2023.

Grammar Expert. "Is It Grew Or Grown Whats The Correct Past Tense O." GrammarFlex, May 31, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/is-it-grew-or-grown-whats-the-correct-past-tense-o/.

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