Break, broke, broken: What’s the difference?
Break, broke, or broken—what’s the difference between each conjugation of the (irregular) verb, break?
✓ I’ll break the chocolate in half.
✓ I broke the chocolate.
✗ I broken the chocolate.
Break (verb) is described in the dictionary as, “to come apart or split into pieces : fragment, shatter. The cup broke when it fell.”
| present | past | future | |
| simple | I break | I broke | I will break |
| continuous | I am breaking | I was breaking | I will be breaking |
| perfect | I have broken | I had broken | I will have broken |
| perfect continuous | I have been breaking | I had been breaking | I will have been breaking |
Usage note: broke
The simple past tense of break, which is broke, is regularly used as an adjective to describe not having enough money, or any money, as in, ‘the company went broke.’ Also, ‘I can’t go out anymore, otherwise I’ll go broke.
Is break a regular or irregular verb?
The simple past tense of ‘break‘ (rhymes with wake) is broke (rhymes with woke). The past participle is broken (rhymes with woken). Break has 3 forms altogether: break, broke, and broken. Break is not the only irregular verb in English with 3 verb forms:
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
| wear | wore | worn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| break | broke | broken |
Regular verbs in English end in -ed in its past tense forms. Break, in its past tense forms, clearly does not end in -ed. So break (along with each of the verbs listed above, and more) are treated as irregular verbs in English.
Broke vs broken: which to use when
Read these sentences:
I broke my leg skiing. (simple past)
I heard that Bob and Lucy have broken up. (past participle)
The sentence with the past participle broken places have in italics. This tells us that broken is indeed a participle: participles follow a helping verb or auxiliary verb (such as have, has, would) to reflect tense, voice, count, and other verbal information. Try removing the ‘have‘ from the sentence, and it won’t make sense: I heard that Bob and Lucy broken up. Here, you’d switch to the simple past, i.e., broke, to correct the sentence. The past participle also requires sentence objects (direct or indirect), and is communicated in the passive voice (as opposed to active).
Practice using the verb in different tenses with example sentences to memorize the correct forms.
“Break” / “broke” / “broken”, used in sentences
| Examples: break / breaks / breaking |
|---|
| 2. I’ve been getting the feeling she is trying to break us up. 3. Early cars tried to be faster and faster, to break the 60 mph barrier. 4. I always heard marriage could break up a good friendship. 5. If you break it, you replace it. |
| Examples: broke / broken |
|---|
| 1. He rubbed his eyes and a smile broke across his face. 2. So that was how he broke his nose. 3. No one broke the silence. 4. She broke down and called a lawyer. 5. Her voice broke and she stopped, wiping her eyes. 1. She died of a broken heart. |
Practice questions: tenses of ‘break’
| Complete the sentence with the correct verb form. | Options: |
|---|---|
| 1. I can ___ the chocolate bar into pieces so that we can share it. | a. broken b. broke c. breaking d. break |
| 2. I ___ in my new shoes if I continue to wear them. | a. broken b. broke c. breaking d. will break |
| 3. I am ___ the crackers into small pieces. | a. broken b. broke c. breaking d. break |
| 4. I ___ my phone screen. | a. broken b. broke c. breaking d. break |
| 5. I ___ many dishes over the years. | a. have broken b. broke c. breaking d. break |
| 6. He ___ dishes all the time! | a. broken b. broke c. breaking d. breaks |
| Select the correct tense the sentence is written in: | |
| 7. Give yourself a break and get some rest. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
| 8. A smile broke across his face. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. simple past d. past perfect |
| 9. They had broken the rules. | a. simple present b. present perfect c. present perfect d. past perfect |
| 10. Management has not succeeded in breaking the strike. | a. simple present b. present continuous c. simple past d. past perfect |
Answers
- d
- d
- c
- b
- a
- d
- a
- c
- d
- b
Origin of the word break
From etymology online on break (v.):
Old English brecan “to divide solid matter violently into parts or fragments; to injure, violate (a promise, etc.), destroy, curtail; to break into, rush into; to burst forth, spring out; to subdue, tame” from Proto-Germanic *brekanan.
Learn more about verbs
| 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 | … win? |
Sources
- Merriam-Webster, definition of break.
- Etymology online, origin of break.
- Theasaurus.com, synonyms of break.
Worksheet
What is the simple past tense of “break”?
Which sentence uses “broken” correctly?
Is “break” a regular or irregular verb?
What is the past participle of “break”?
Which sentence uses the past tense of “break” correctly?
The vase into pieces.
My phone screen is .
He had his leg.
The news report said the company went .
I my ankle during the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “break” a regular or irregular verb?
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What’s the past tense of “break”?
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How do I use “broke” vs. “broken”?
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What are the three forms of “break”?
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Can “broke” be used as an adjective?
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Yash, D. "What’s the Past Tense of Break? (Break, Broke, Broken?)." Grammarflex, Jun 5, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/whats-the-past-tense-of-break-break-broke-broken/.
