shear
Base form
shear
/ʃɪə(r)//ʃɪr/
Past simple
sheared
/ʃɪəd//ʃɪrd/
Past participle
shorn / sheared
/ʃɔːn/ /ʃɪəd//ʃɔːrn/ /ʃɪrd/
MeaningC1
to cut the wool off a sheep
to shear sheep
In use
- After a modal verb · Form 1The farmer will shear the sheep next week.
- Question · Form 1When do farmers shear their sheep?
- Past simple · Form 2Last June my uncle sheared over two hundred sheep.
- Past simple · Form 2Last spring our neighbour sheared his whole flock in two days.
- Passive · Form 3The sheep were shorn before the hot weather.
- Present perfect · Form 3Have you ever shorn a sheep by hand?
Watch out
Sheared is the past; shorn is the usual participle for sheep and hair. Sheard and shorned are wrong.
Same pattern
A — B — CAll three forms differ
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