Begun vs. began
My husband and I are the grammar police. And, we have this nasty little habit of taking great pleasure in correcting one another.
Today, he got me. I used began incorrectly. And, just so you will never suffer the same fate, here is the tip:
Began is the past tense. It occurs alone.
Begun is the past participle. It occurs after the verb 'have.'
Another tip and way to look at it:
Began is for the past, for example, yesterday.
Example: I began it yesterday.
Use have begun when talking about something you are doing. You have started it and you are still doing it.
Example: I have begun doing my homework.
Hat tip to Using English.
Today, he got me. I used began incorrectly. And, just so you will never suffer the same fate, here is the tip:
Began is the past tense. It occurs alone.
Begun is the past participle. It occurs after the verb 'have.'
Another tip and way to look at it:
Began is for the past, for example, yesterday.
Example: I began it yesterday.
Use have begun when talking about something you are doing. You have started it and you are still doing it.
Example: I have begun doing my homework.
Hat tip to Using English.
2 Comments:
At 10:10 AM, January 20, 2009, Gadfly said…
you know, that's not a problem one for me, but thanks anyway. There are the ones that so many people use incorrectly so often, that I get confused and find myself rewriting a sentence, just so I don't have to go there o_O
You know, those of us WITHOUT nitpicky spouses ... it would probably do us good to go audit high school English now and again *chuckle*
At 7:23 PM, January 20, 2009, Submariner said…
Who, or whom, do he think he am? Tell AoD for me that he owes you a dollah! ;-0
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