Past Tense of Shake: Shook or Shaken?
To shake (present tense), shook (simple past tense); and shaken (past participle).
The meaning of “shake”
The word shake, defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “to move quickly up and down or from side to side in short, sudden movements.” Shake has various meanings and uses in English, ranging from physical movements to emotional reactions or disruptions.
To shake is the present tense form of the verb, shook is the past simple, and shaken is the past participle form of the verb. This makes the verb, to shake, irregular, and a part of the class of verbs with 3 forms (like shake/shook/shaken).
See the chart below:
| Base Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle |
| wear | wore | worn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| break | broke | broken |
| shake | shook | shaken |
Conjugations of the verb shake
| Tense | Present | Past | Future |
| Simple | I shake | I shook | I will shake |
| Continuous | I am shaking | I was shaking | I will be shaking |
| Perfect | I have shaken | I had shaken | I will have shaken |
| Perfect Continuous | I have been shaking | I had been shaking | I will have been shaking |
Tenses of ‘shake‘
Shake is in the present tense: He always shakes his head when he disagrees.
Shook is the simple past: She shook her friend’s hand firmly.
Shaken is the past participle: The ground was shaken by the earthquake.
Past tense: He shook the bottle before opening it.
Past participle: She had already shaken all the cans of paint.
Examples of shake in the present tense (in sentences)
- Don’t shake the baby’s bottle too hard.
- The dog likes to shake its toys during playtime.
- They shake hands as a sign of agreement.
- If you feel cold, shake your arms to warm up.
- The earthquake makes the ground shake violently.
Examples of shook in the past tense (in sentences)
- She shook the rug to remove the dust.
- He shook his head in disbelief.
- The tree shook in the strong wind.
- I shook the box to see if anything was inside.
- They shook hands before parting ways.
Examples of the past participle shaken (in sentences)
- The foundations of the building were shaken by the explosion.
- She had shaken the can of soda before opening it.
- The experience had left her shaken but determined.
- The news of the accident had shaken the entire community.
- The belief in his innocence was shaken by the evidence presented in court.
Synonyms of shake
- Tremble
- Vibrate
- Jolt
- Quiver
- Oscillate
- Rattle
- Shiver
- Agitate
- Disturb
- Rouse
- Unsettle
- Stir
- Rock
- Sway
Idioms with shake
- Shake a leg (to hurry up or start moving)
- Shake in one’s boots (to be very scared or nervous)
- Shake things up (to make changes or introduce excitement)
- Shake off (to get rid of or escape from something)
- Shake like a leaf (to tremble or shiver with fear or nervousness)
- Shake the dust off (to move on or start afresh after a setback)
Origin of the word/verb shake
From etymology online on shake (v.):
Old English sceacan “move (something) quickly to and fro, brandish; move the body or a part of it rapidly back and forth;” also “to tremble,” from Proto-Germanic *skakanan.
