overtake
Base form
overtake
/ˌəʊvəˈteɪk//ˌəʊvərˈteɪk/
Past simple
overtook
/ˌəʊvəˈtʊk//ˌəʊvərˈtʊk/
Past participle
overtaken
/ˌəʊvəˈteɪkən//ˌəʊvərˈteɪkən/
MeaningB2
to go past a moving vehicle or person from behind
to be overtaken by events
In use
- Negative · Form 1Never overtake on a narrow bend in the dark!
- After a modal verb · Form 1You can overtake the lorry when the road is clear.
- Past simple · Form 2Yesterday a red sports car overtook us at high speed.
- Past simple · Form 2In 2010 China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy.
- Passive · Form 3We were overtaken by a cyclist going uphill!
- Present perfect · Form 3Online shopping has overtaken high-street shops.
Watch out
Like take: overtook, then overtaken with -n: he has overtook us → he has overtaken us. Overtaked and overtooken are wrong.
Same pattern
A — B — CAll three forms differ
Irregular VerbsLearn all three forms for good
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