Past tense of shall
irregular verb
The past tense of shall is should. The past participle is also should.
Forms of shall
| Base form (V1) | shall /ʃæl/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | should /ʃəd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | should /ʃəd/ |
| Third person singular | shall /ʃæl/ |
Should in a sentence
- Things haven't turned out as I intended they should, but I still intend that you shall take over the business.
- He should þe Princess his Life, for she had deliver'd him from þe Poison deadly.
- You should put a couple of springs onto the jetty to stop the boat moving so much.From the entry spring
- This site's FAQ says you should log in to access some pages.From the entry faq
- You should start dating so you can find a suitable husband.From the entry husband
Meaning of shall
- verb Used before a verb to indicate the simple future tense in the first person singular or plural.
- verb Used similarly to indicate determination or obligation in the second and third persons singular or plural.
- verb Used in questions with the first person singular or plural to suggest a possible future action.
Verbs like shall
Questions about the past tense of shall
- What is the past tense of shall?
- The past tense of shall is should.
- What is the past participle of shall?
- The past participle of shall is should.
- Is shall a regular or irregular verb?
- Shall is an irregular verb: its past tense is not formed with -ed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shall (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.
Last updated:
Cite this page: “Past tense of shall.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/shall. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.