swell
Base form
swell
/swel/
Past simple
swelled
/sweld/
Past participle
swollen / swelled
/ˈswəʊlən/ /sweld/
MeaningC1
to become bigger, especially after an injury
My ankle started to swell up.
In use
- After a modal verb · Form 1Your ankle will swell if you don’t put ice on it.
- Negative · Form 1Don’t worry, the bite won’t swell much.
- Past simple · Form 2Last night my finger swelled up after the bee sting.
- Past simple · Form 2In the summer of 2019 the town’s population swelled to fifty thousand.
- Present perfect · Form 3The river has swollen after a week of rain.
- Past perfect · Form 3By morning her face had swollen so much that one eye was shut.
Watch out
The past is swelled; after have say swollen (swelled is also right): my ankle has swollen. Swole and swelt are wrong.
Same pattern
A — B — BForms two and three are the same
Irregular VerbsLearn all three forms for good
Short lessons by frequency or by pattern, audio for every form and daily reviews that bring back exactly the verbs you are about to forget.
Install on your phoneScan with your phone camera to download the app