Take, took and taken are forms of the verb take, which means to get hold of something, to carry or to bring something, or to do an action such as take a photo or take a bus. This short guide explains how to use each form with clear examples.
Take
Use take for the base form, for general actions, and after helpers like will, can and must. Use take when you talk about habits, rules, or things that happen regularly.
I usually take the bus to work.
Took
Use took for the simple past when you describe an action that happened at a specific time in the past. Took tells about a completed event and fits well with past time expressions.
Taken
Use taken as the past participle with helpers like have, has and had to form perfect tenses. Taken appears in phrases like have taken and in passive structures like was taken.
Summary
Remember: use take for the base form and general actions, took for specific past events, and taken for perfect tenses and passives. Practice with short sentences about things you actually do to make the forms natural.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025