What is the Past Tense of Read? Read Past Tense in English and Hindi with Example Sentences
Updated for the CBSE 2026-27 session as per the rationalised syllabus.
The past tense of “read” is “read”, spelled the same but pronounced differently – it is pronounced as ‘red’. The verb “read” has an irregular past tense form as it does not accept the addition of “-ed” or “-d”. The past participle of the verb “read” is the same as the past form “read” which is pronounced as “red”.
Past tense of Read and other forms of the verb “READ”
In Hindi, ‘Read’ means पढ़ना
| root or present form | Read पढ़ता हूं पढ़ते हैं |
| third person singular / ‘s’ form | reads पढ़ता है पढ़ती है |
| past form | read पढ़ रहा था पढ़ा था पढ़ रही थी पढ़ रहे थे |
| present participle/ ‘ing’ form | reading पढ़ रहा हूं पढ़ रहे हैं |
| past participle form | read पढ़ चुका हूं पढ़ चुके हैं पढ़ चुकी है |

Related
- Determiners, Use, Exercise and Examples
- All About Tenses, Types of Tenses in English Grammar with Examples
- Direct and Indirect Speech, Format, Examples
- Subject-verb Agreement, Definition, Examples
Let us see some example sentences to understand the usage of the different forms of the verb ‘read’.
| Please read loudly. | (Present form) |
| My son reads Harry Potter books. | (III person singular / ‘s’ form) |
| I have read this book. | (past form) |
| She is reading the newspaper. | (present participle form) |
| Have you read my latest book? | (past participle form) |
Please watch the following video to understand the lesson better-
अंग्रेजी मैं Kriya के अलग-अलग भेद यहां बताए गए हैं (forms of Verb). उदाहरण के वाक्य भी दिए गए हैं जिससे आपको पूरी जानकारी मिलेगी कि इसका सही प्रयोग कैसे किया जाए
FAQ
Q: What is the past tense of “read”?
Ans: It’s “read” — spelled identically to the present form but pronounced “red.”
Q: Why doesn’t “read” take an “-ed” ending like regular verbs?
Ans: Because it’s an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the standard “-ed”/”-d” pattern for forming the past tense.
Q: Is the past participle of “read” different from its past tense form?
Ans: No, both the past tense and past participle are “read” (pronounced “red”).
Q: How do you know if “read” is present or past tense in a sentence?
Ans: Since spelling doesn’t change, you have to rely on context — for example, “I read every day” (present) vs. “I read that book yesterday” (past).
Related:
- Past Tense of Bite
- Past Tense of Fall
- Past Tense of Come
- Past Tense of Read
- Learn English
- Present Continuous Tense –
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense Past Perfect Tense
- Conjunction
- Simple Past Tense