What’s the past tense of “sing”?
Have you ever sung your sweet soul out in the shower? Do you like to sing? If you’d like—sing a song about the proper tenses of the verb sing—now would be a good time do so.
Let’s answer some common questions on the verb and topic of today’s post: what’s the past tense of sing?
“Sang” or “sung”, which is correct?
- Sing is the base verb and simple present tense.
- Sang is the simple past verb form;
- Sung is the past participle used in perfect/progressive tense constructions with auxiliaries.
Altogether, the irregular verb sing uses two past tense conjugations sang and sung. “Sung” is the past participle form used with auxiliaries, (e.g., had in the past perfect; have in the present perfect, respectively).
Conjugations of “sing”
| Tense | Present | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I sing | I sang | I will sing |
| Continuous | I am singing | I was singing | I will be singing |
| Perfect | I have sung | I had sung | I will have sung |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been singing | I had been singing | I will have been singing |
- I wish I knew how to sing.
- Wow, she might love to sing, but she shouldn’t quit her day job.
- You sing beautifully!
- People that can sing have a cherished gift and talent.
Sentences with “sang” (simple past)
- Rob played piano and Lucy sang.
- She sang the anthem.
- She sang in her church choir.
- I sang in an a cappella group in college.
- “I was born singing. Most babies cry, I sang an aria.” —Gail Carson Levine, Fairest
Sentences with “sung” (past participle)
- She had sung with them on tour.
- The mother had sung many songs by the time the baby fell asleep.
- She had sung in her church choir when she was young.
- They had sung and danced the night away.
- The night of their wedding they’d sung at the tops of their lungs.
Phrases with “sing”
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| it’s not over until the fat lady sings | the final outcome of a situation can’t be determined until it’s entirely finished |
| if you sing before breakfast, you’ll cry before night | if you’re too optimistic at the start of the day you may end up having a bad day |
| lay low and sing small | to be inconspicuous |
| to sing someone’s praises | to speak highly of someone or something |
| to sing for one’s supper | to obtain something by working for it |
| to sing a different song/tune | to change one’s opinion or view of something |
| to sing from the same songbook/hymnbook | to “be on the same page” as someone, or share the same view/understanding of a situation |
Origin of the word sing
From etymology online on sing (v.):
Middle English singen, from Old English singan “to chant, sing,” especially in joy or merriment; “celebrate, or tell in song” from Proto-Germanic *sengwan.
Other verb topics
| Types of verbs & verb tenses | what’s the past tense of …? |
|---|---|
| forms of ‘to be’ | … seek? |
| auxiliary verbs | … teach? |
| present tense | … catch? |
| future tense | … buy? |
| past tense | … read? |
| perfect tense | … draw? |
| transitive vs. intransitive | … drive? |
| participles | … throw? |
| irregular verbs | … lead? |
| modals | … spell? |
Practice: Sang or sung?
The lead vocalist _______ with so much passion that the entire crowd went wild.
She is a world traveler and has _______ in concert halls on five different continents.
Before the power went out, the performers had _______ the entire first act.
My grandfather _______ traditional folk songs when he works in his garden.
The choir announced that it _______ carols at the town square next month.
