tear
Base form
tear
/teə(r)//ter/
Past simple
tore
/tɔː(r)//tɔːr/
Past participle
torn
/tɔːn//tɔːrn/
MeaningB2
to pull something apart, or make a hole in it
to tear your hair out
In use
- Negative · Form 1Be careful not to tear the wrapping paper.
- Imperative · Form 1Tear the bread into small pieces for the ducks.
- Past simple · Form 2I tore my favourite jeans on a nail yesterday.
- Past simple · Form 2Last night the wind tore the roof off our shed.
- Passive · Form 3The letter had been torn into tiny pieces.
- Present perfect · Form 3Someone has torn a page out of this library book.
Watch out
Tore and torn, like wore and worn: tored, torned and toren are wrong. Tear /tɪə/, a drop from the eye, is a different word.
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