sleep
Base form
sleep
/sliːp/
Past simple
slept
/slept/
Past participle
slept
/slept/
MeaningA1
to rest with your eyes closed
to sleep like a log
In use
- After a modal verb · Form 1I can’t sleep when the neighbours play loud music.
- Negative · Form 1Don’t sleep with your phone next to your bed.
- Past simple · Form 2Last night I slept for ten hours without waking up.
- Past simple · Form 2On our camping trip in May we slept under the stars.
- Present perfect · Form 3Have you slept at all since the baby was born?
- Past perfect · Form 3Tom had slept badly, so he was tired all day.
Watch out
Long ee in sleep, short e in slept, never sleeped, just like keep → kept. The moment you go to sleep is fall asleep: I fell asleep at eleven.
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