Past tense of explain
regular verb
The past tense of explain is explained. The past participle is also explained.
Forms of explain
| Base form (V1) | explain /ɪkˈspleɪn/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | explained /ɪkˈspleɪnd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | explained /ɪkˈspleɪnd/ |
| Present participle | explaining |
| Third person singular | explains |
Explained in a sentence
- The issue was explained to the governor in detail.
- Nobody would miss them, he explained.1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co....
- I explained enough for her to understand the issue: there wasn't enough of an economic surplus.From the entry enough
- The guide led us around the museum and explained the exhibits.From the entry guide
- The therapist explained how certain muscles adduct the leg toward the body.From the entry adduct
Meaning of explain
- verb To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of.
- verb To give the reason for, justification for, or cause of.
- verb To make flat, smooth out.
Questions about the past tense of explain
- What is the past tense of explain?
- The past tense of explain is explained.
- What is the past participle of explain?
- The past participle of explain is explained.
- Is explain a regular or irregular verb?
- Explain is a regular verb: its past tense adds -ed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: explain (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of explain.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/explain. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.