Take: took, taken

The verb take means to get, grasp, or carry something; to perform an action; or to accept responsibility. It is irregular, with past tense took and past participle taken.

take — base form (present)
took — simple past
taken — past participle (used with “have,” “has,” “had,” or in passive voice)

Use take for present actions, took for completed past actions, and taken for perfect tenses or passive constructions.

Usage Rules

How to use “take,” “took,” and “taken” in different grammatical contexts.

Take — Use for present tense, instructions, general truths, or future actions (with “will”).
Took — Use for actions completed in the past.
Taken — Use with auxiliary verbs (“have,” “has,” “had”) for perfect tenses, or with “be” for passive voice.

Examples

Sample sentences showing “take,” “took,” and “taken” in different contexts.

Subject	Verb Form	Example	Meaning
I	take	I take the bus every day.	Present habitual action
She	took	She took the book yesterday.	Past completed action
They have	taken	They have taken the test already.	Present perfect (completed action)
The gift was	taken	The gift was taken by mistake.	Passive voice in past

In "I take the bus every day," what does the verb form "take" indicate?

future prediction

past participle form

present habitual action

past completed action

present habitual action

The verb form "take" in the sentence "I take the bus every day" indicates a present habitual action—something done regularly.

Tips

Remember took is never used with auxiliary verbs. For example, say “I took the keys,” not “I have took the keys.”
Use taken with “have/has/had” (e.g., “I have taken,” “She had taken”) or in passive structures (e.g., “The letter was taken”).
Take can appear in phrasal verbs like take off, take up, take out—meaning depends on the particle.
The object usually follows immediately: “take a break,” not “take break a.”

Summary

Take (present): I take, you take, she takes
Took (past): I took, you took, she took
Taken (past participle): I have taken, she had taken, it was taken
Use took for simple past, taken for perfect tenses/passive voice, and take for present/future.