misunderstand
Base form
misunderstand
/ˌmɪsʌndəˈstænd//ˌmɪsʌndərˈstænd/
Past simple
misunderstood
/ˌmɪsʌndəˈstʊd//ˌmɪsʌndərˈstʊd/
Past participle
misunderstood
/ˌmɪsʌndəˈstʊd//ˌmɪsʌndərˈstʊd/
MeaningB2
to fail to understand someone or something correctly
there’s been a slight misunderstanding
In use
- Negative · Form 1Please don’t misunderstand me — I like your idea.
- After a modal verb · Form 1Children can easily misunderstand a joke like that.
- Past simple · Form 2Yesterday I misunderstood the instructions and went to the wrong room.
- Past simple · Form 2Last week the waiter misunderstood my order and brought fish.
- Passive · Form 3His words were misunderstood by the press.
- Present perfect · Form 3I think you’ve misunderstood the question.
Watch out
Misunderstood keeps stood from stand: misunderstanded and misunderstooded are wrong.
Same pattern
A — B — BForms two and three are the same
Irregular VerbsLearn all three forms for good
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