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Split or Splitted? Which is Correct?

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Forms of split in text message conversation.
Forms of split in text message conversation.

Split or splitted? What’s the past tense of split?

Did you split the pieces in half, or were they splitted in half? If the answer to this question on verb conjugation evades you, you may want to consult the information below.

✔️ Usage Note
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The old photograph split down the middle.
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We have split our shared responsibilities for the project.

  • Split is an irregular verb and doesn’t end in -“ed” in the past tense.
  • Split stays the same in the present, past and past participle form.

To refer to split in the past tense, use split.

present past future
simple I split I split I will split
continuous I am splitting I was splitting I will be splitting
perfect I have split I had split I will have split
perfect continuous I have been splitting I had been splitting I will have been splitting

Past tense vs. Past participle of split

Word Form Examples
Past Participle She had split the difference between them before leaving for the night. (past participle)
Other The results split neatly into two groups. (past simple)

We can distinguish between the simple past tense and the past perfect/continuous tenses by the presence of any auxiliary verbs in the same sentence, such as have/had (in the present perfect and past perfect tenses, respectively). The second sentence includes had + split, which creates the past perfect tense. We write in the past perfect tense when we want to stress the correct sequence in which past events or actions took place.

Verbs with one form in the present and past

base verb past tense past participle
split split split
burst burst burst
bet bet bet
shut shut shut
hit hit hit
set set set

Examples of split in present tense

Examples: “split“, present tense
If the chicken is fairly small, you may simply split it in half. The Kremlin is deeply split in its approach to foreign policy. Identical twins come from a single fertilized egg that splits in two. His time is split between the London and Paris offices.

Examples of split in the past tense

Examples: “split“, past tense
In a severe gale the ship split in two. The two men agreed to split the proceeds. The sect split from the Mormon church more than a hundred years ago. The poll found the public evenly split on the issue. The cushion split open and sent feathers everywhere.
💡Study Tip

That ‘split’ is like ‘cut’ and ‘put’ – its past tense and past participle forms are also ‘split’, not ‘splitted’.

Examples sentences of split as a participle

Examples: “split“, past participle
Her dress had split along the seam. The country was split down the middle over the strike. The weight of the coal had caused the sack to split. He had split his trousers when he bent over. The leather was dry and had split in places.

Idioms with split

phrase meaning
make like a banana and split to get out of somewhere quickly
in a split-second / lickety-split (it will take a second, figuratively speaking)
finer than a frog’s hair split four ways! a hilarious way of saying you’re doing great or fine
don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you! a way to say ‘leave’ quickly
split between two things can’t decide between people or situations

Origin of the word split

Origin 1580s (transitive and intransitive), not found in Middle English, probably from a Low German source such as Middle Dutch splitten, from Proto-Germanic *spleitanan.

Commonly confused verbs

Worksheet: Irregular verbs

Question 1 of 10

According to the blog post, what is the simple past tense form of the verb ‘split’?



Which of the following sentences correctly uses the past participle of ‘split’ to form the present perfect tense?



The blog post states that ‘split’ is an irregular verb because:



Which sentence uses the past tense of ‘split’ correctly?



What is the past participle form of ‘split’, according to the blog post?



The old board when I tried to nail it.



They have the chores among themselves.



Before the meeting, she had already the report into sections.



The company profits were evenly between the partners last year.



We the cost of the meal when the check arrived.





FAQs

Is ‘splitted’ a correct form of ‘split’?
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No, “splitted” is an incorrect form. The post states that ‘split’ is an irregular verb and does not end in -ed in the past tense or as a past participle.

What is the past tense of split?
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According to the post, the simple past tense of ‘split’ is ‘split’. It stays the same as the present form. Example: “The old photograph split down the middle.”

What is the past participle of split?
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The post says the past participle of ‘split’ is also ‘split’. It’s used with auxiliary verbs like ‘have’ or ‘had’. Example: “We have split our shared responsibilities.”

Why is ‘split’ not ‘splitted’?
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The post explains that ‘split’ is an irregular verb. Irregular verbs do not follow the standard pattern of adding -ed for the past tense and past participle; ‘split’ remains ‘split’ in these forms.

How do I use split in past perfect?
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To use ‘split’ in the past perfect tense, you use the auxiliary verb ‘had’ followed by ‘split’. Example from the post: “He had split his trousers when he bent over.”

Sources

  1. Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
  2. Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of split.” Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/split. Accessed 28 February, 2023.

Yash, D. "Split or Splitted? Which is Correct?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/split-vs-splitted-whats-the-past-tense-of-split/.

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