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What’s the Past Tense of Steal? Stole or Stolen?

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Elan Yash

Elan is head of design and tech. He's also a contributor at Grammarflex.
Forms of the verb 'steal' in context.
Forms of the verb ‘steal‘ in context.

The meaning of “steal”

The word steal, defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “to take something from a person, shop, etc. without permission and without intending to return it or pay for it.” Steal is a homophone in English, which are words that have the same pronunciation though mean different things. Steel, which sounds the same as steal), is a type of iron metal with carbon that is used commercially.

👍🏼Usage Note
✓The burglar stole the diamonds last night.
✓Her car had been stolen before she reported it.
✗They steal the money from the bank yesterday.
✗All the valuables have been stole from the safe.

To steal is the present tense from of the verb, stole is the past simple, and stolen is the pastparticiple form of the verb. This makes the verb, to steal, both irregular, and a part of the class of verbs with 3 forms (like steal/stole/stolen). See the chart:

base verb past tense past participle
wear wore worn
tear tore torn
swear swore sworn
steal stole stolen
break broke broken
Irregular verbs (with one present, past and past participle form).

Those familiar with Proto-Germanic languages may note the ablaut, which is present in the ‘pulling sound’ of such Germanic-originated ‘irregular’ verb patterns (which, evidently, was quite regular as a verb form in the original German). The ablaut is audible in the verb forms of speak/spoke/spoken, write/wrote/written; hide/hid/hidden, and steal/stole/stolen.

Conjugations of the verb steal

present past future
simple I steal I stole I will steal
continuous I am stealing I was stealing I will be stealing
perfect I have stolen I had stolen I will have stolen
perfect continuous I have been stealing I had been stealing I will have been stealing
Tenses of ‘steal‘.

Steal is in the present tense:  He wanted me to steal your necklace.

Stole is the simple past:  If she stole something from you, I’ll return it.

Stolen is the past participle:  My wallet was stolen.

Which is correct: stole or stolen?‍

Word Form Examples
Past Participle 2. I had my wallet stolen.

5. He discovered that his car had been stolen.
Other 1. Those ideas were stolen from me.

3. He was charged with possession of stolen property.

4. My wallet was stolen.

Synonyms of steal

  • ransack
  • loot
  • kidnap
  • swindle
  • burglarize
  • pilfer
  • theft
  • poach
  • embezzle
  • run off with
  • snitch
  • shoplift
  • peculate

Idioms with steal

  • Mean enough to steal a penny off a dead man’s eyes
  • Steal the show/the spotlight/the thunder (to divert attention to oneself)
  • Like stealing acorns from a blind pig (something that’s extremely easy to accomplish)
  • Beg, borrow or steal (to accomplish something by any means necessary)
  • Steal a march on something or someone (to get an advantage over someone or something)
  • Steal a glance (to look at someone)

Origin of the word/verb steal

From etymology online on steal (v.):

Old English stelan “to commit a theft, to take and carry off clandestinely and without right or leave” from Proto-Germanic *stelanan.

‍Other commonly confused verb tenses

Worksheet

Question 1 of 10

According to the post, what is the simple past tense form of the verb “steal”?

Which form of “steal” is the past participle and is used with auxiliary verbs like ‘had’ or ‘was’?

The blog post states that using “They steal the money from the bank yesterday” is incorrect because:

Which sentence correctly uses the simple past tense of “steal”?

When is the form “stolen” typically used, according to the post?

The child admitted he a cookie from the jar yesterday.

She reported that her bicycle had been earlier that morning.

They were careful not to any attention during the performance.

The museum discovered that several artifacts were missing; they had been .

He a quick look at the clock on the wall.

FAQs

What are the main forms of the verb steal?
+

The post states the forms are: present tense “steal”, past simple “stole”, and past participle “stolen”. It’s an irregular verb with these three distinct forms.

When should I use the word stole?
+

Use “stole” for the simple past tense, referring to a completed action. The post gives the example: “The burglar stole the diamonds last night.” It doesn’t use an auxiliary verb.

When should I use the word stolen?
+

Use “stolen” as the past participle form of steal. It requires an auxiliary verb like had or was, often for perfect tenses or passive voice, like “Her car had been stolen.”

Why is “have been stole” incorrect?
+

The post explains that “stole” is the simple past, not the past participle. When using auxiliary verbs like “have been,” the correct past participle form “stolen” is required instead of “stole.”

Is steal correct for past tense?
+

No, the post notes that “steal” is the present tense. For simple past actions, the correct form is “stole,” not “steal.” An example mistake shown is “They steal the money… yesterday.”

Yash, D. "What’s the Past Tense of Steal? Stole or Stolen?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/stole-or-stolen-whats-the-past-tense-of-steal/.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia. 2023. “Indo-European ablaut.” Wikimedia Foundation. Last modified January 10, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_ablaut.

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