What’s the past tense of dream?
When you want to tell someone about your dream, should you say I dreamed or dreamt?
In other words: what is the past tense of dream? Let’s take a look.
When to use “dreamed” or “dreamt”
To understand the word, ‘dream’ has a noun and verb form: the former refers to “a series of images, events and feelings that happen in your mind while you are asleep”. The latter is the actual experiencing of these images or events that happen while you’re asleep.
Dream belongs to a class a verbs with two acceptable forms in the past tense and as a past participle. So, technically, you can use either dreamed or dreamt, since both are correct ways to denote the past in English.
Similar to verbs like smelled/smelt, spelled/spelt, and burned/burnt, what broadly differentiates them is that dreamt (an irregular verb form) is the UK English preference, and American English prefers dreamed, which is the standard verb form that ends in “ed”.
- UK English prefers dreamt as the past tense and past participle form.
- US English favours dreamed, (dreamt is still accepted, but it’s less common).
Note: Google Ngram searches show that ‘dreamed’ is the more commonly used or preferred past form. Keep in mind that common usage does not always equal to ‘better’ or superior; it’s simply something to consider.
Verb forms of “dream”
| present | past | future | |
| simple | I dream | I dreamed/dreamt | I will dream |
| continuous | I am dreaming | I was dreaming | I will be dreaming |
| perfect | I have dreamt/dreamed | I had dreamt/dreamed | I will have dreamt/dreamed |
| perfect continuous | I have been dreaming | I had been dreaming | I will have been dreaming |
A dream, which is a “sequence of sensations or images passing through the mind of a sleeping person,” has two accepted past verb forms, dreamed and dreamt. See the conjugations of dream in the following sentences.
1. Dream is present tense: For most of us, a brand new designer kitchen is something we can only dream about.
2. Dreams is third-person present singular: She dreams of moving to the countryside and becoming a farmer.
3. Dreaming is the present participle form: I’ve been dreaming about going to Italy for so long!
4. Dreamed/dreamt is past tense: Raj dreamed/dreamt that he was on a bus.
5. Will dream is future tense: I dream that my son will attend college and find a good job.
6. Had dreamt/dreamed is the past participle verb form: As a girl, she had dreamed/dreamt of becoming a ballerina.
Is dream a regular or irregular verb?
Well, it depends on the form you use. Dream-ed is regular since it ends in –ed, whereas dreamt is irregular since it does not. Dream belongs to a special class of verbs that accepts two forms as both the past tense and past participle. Here’s a chart of other verbs that partake in the same verb pattern as dream.
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| leap | leapt/leaped | leapt/leaped |
| lean | leant/leaned | leant/leaned |
| smell | smelled/smelt | smelt/smelled |
Dream (present tense) in application
I often dream about my future.
She dreams of becoming a successful writer someday. (third-person present singular)
He dreams of traveling the world.
They dream of starting their own business.
The child dream of becoming an astronaut when they grow up.
Dreamt/dreamed (past tense) in sentences
I dreamed/dreamt of flying last night.
She dreamed/dreamt about her childhood home and woke up feeling nostalgic.
He dreamed/dreamt that he was being chased by a giant monster.
They dreamed/dreamt of a better future for their children.
The movie was so boring that I fell asleep and dreamed/dreamt about something else.
Sentences with dreamed/dreamt (past participle)
I have dreamed/dreamt of visiting Paris since I was a child.
He had dreamed/dreamt about winning the lottery the night before.
She had often dreamed/dreamt of becoming a famous singer.
They have never dreamed/dreamt of such a wonderful opportunity.
The scientist had long dreamed/dreamtof discovering a cure for the disease.
Practice questions: forms of ‘dream’
| Questions | Answer options: |
|---|---|
| 1. True or false: “dream” has both a regular and irregular verb form. | a. true b. false |
| 2. The sentence is in what tense: She dreams of moving to the countryside and becoming a farmer. | a. past tense b. present perfect c. present |
| 3. Select the correct tense the sentence is in: I’ve been dreaming about going to Italy for so long! | a. past simple b. Present perfect c. Present perfect continuous |
| 4. The sentence is in what tense: As a girl, she had dreamed/dreamt of becoming a ballerina. | a. simple past b. present continuous c. past perfect |
| 5. The sentence is in which tense: I dream that my son will attend college and find a good job. | a. present perfect b. present continuous c. past continuous |
| 6. Select the tense the sentence is in: Raj dreamed/dreamt that he was on a bus. | a. present perfect b. past perfect c. simple past |
Answers
- c
- a
- a
- a
- a
- b
The origin of the word
From etymology online (v.):
“Sequence of sensations or images passing through the mind of a sleeping person,” mid-13c., probably related to Old Norse draumr, Danish drøm, Swedish dröm, Old Saxon drom “merriment, noise,” Old Frisian dram “dream,”.
Learn more about verbs
- What are regular and irregular verbs?
- Transitive and intransitive verbs?
- What are verbs?
- What’re personal pronouns?
- What’s the difference between they’re, their, and there?
- Whose vs who’s?
Sources
- Etymonline, dream.
- Oxford Learner’s, dream.
- Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have A Dream“.
