Past Tense of Sew: Sewed or Sewn?

Sew is in the present tense. Sewed is the simple past, and sewn is the past participle.

What’s the past tense of “sew”? Give me the same text

The verb sew is when “someone joins together pieces of fabric or other materials by stitching them with a needle and thread.”

Sew is an irregular verb (does not follow the standard “ed” past tense formation).

Sewed is the simple past tense form; sewn is the past participle form.

Examples of “sewed” in the past tense.

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Examples: “Went” in past tense sentences

She went to the party last night.

Last summer, we went camping in the mountains.

He went to the gym for a workout.

The students went on a field trip to the museum.

Verb tenses of sew

Tense	Past	Present	Future
Simple	I sewed	I sew	I will sew
Continuous	I was sewing	I am sewing	I will be sewing
Perfect	I had sewn	I have sewn	I will have sewn
Perfect Continuous	I had been sewing	I have been sewing	I will have been sewing

• To sew is the present tense
• Sews is third-person present singular
• Sewing is the present participle: Sewed is the simple past
• Will sew is the future tense
• Sewn is the past participle
• hen to use sewed vs. sewn

Both the simple past tense and the past participle are verb forms in English used to describe actions or events that occurred in the past.  See this;

• She sewed a button onto her coat. (simple past)

The first sentence in the simple past tense describes the action or event that happened in the past and is now completed

• The dress had already been sewn before the event. (past participle)

‍The second sentence uses the past participle and shows the state resulting from the action in the past. ‍‍

“Sew”, present tense, used in sentences

• I sew buttons onto my shirts when they fall off.
• She sews her own clothes.
• Sewing a quilt requires patience and skill.
• They sew patches onto their backpacks for decoration.
• Do you know how to sew on a patch?

“Sewed”, past tense, in sentences

• Yesterday, I sewed a patch onto my jeans.
• She sewed a button onto her coat.
• The tailor sewed a hem on the dress.
• He sewed a rip in the tent before the camping trip.
• They sewed together pieces of fabric to make a quilt.

“Sewn”, (past participle), used in sentences

• The costumes had already been sewn before the dress rehearsal.
• The curtains had been sewn by hand.
• The patches had been sewn onto the backpack.
• The seams had been sewn with precision.
• The buttons had been sewn onto the shirts before they were sold.

Synonyms of sew

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• Stitch
• Embroider
• Needle
• Join
• Mend
• Patch
• Seam
• Fasten
• Tailor
• Hem
• Darn
• Quilt
• Attach
• Baste

Origin of the word sew

From etymology online on sew (v.):

Old English siwian “to stitch, sew, mend, patch, knit together,” earlier siowian, from Proto-Germanic *siwjanan (source also of Old Norse syja, Swedish sy, Danish sye, Old Frisian sia, Old High German siuwan, Gothic siujan “to sew”),