Take Took Taken
[A2] Take Took Taken: English verb usage for take in base form, past tense took, and past participle taken. Learn conjugation patterns, common phrases, and usage notes.
Take forms
Take has three key forms: take is the base form, took is the simple past, and taken is the past participle. You choose between them based on the tense and whether you need an auxiliary verb like have or be. Learning the pattern helps you speak and write about actions in the present, past, and in perfect or passive structures.
Take tiene tres formas clave: take es la forma base, took es el pasado simple, y taken es el participio pasado. Eliges entre ellas según el tiempo verbal y si necesitas un verbo auxiliar como have o be. Aprender el patrón te ayuda a hablar y escribir sobre acciones en el presente, pasado y en estructuras perfectas o pasivas.
Base take
Use take for the present simple, imperative, and after modal verbs. In the present simple, only the third-person singular changes to takes. After modals like can, will, and should, you keep the base form take.
Usa take para el presente simple, imperativo y después de verbos modales. En el presente simple, solo la tercera persona del singular cambia a takes. Después de modales como can, will y should, se conserva la forma base take.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
 Use take for present simple with I, you, we, they | 🔹 Usa take para el presente simple con I, you, we, they | I take the bus to work. | 🔹 Tomo el autobús al trabajo. |
| Add -s for he, she, it | 🔹 Agrega -s para él, ella, ello | She takes the bus to work. | 🔹 Ella toma el autobús al trabajo. |
| Use take for commands | 🔹 Usa take para mandatos | Take a seat. | 🔹 Toma asiento. |
| Use take after modals | 🔹 Usa take después de modales | You should take a break. | 🔹 Deberías tomar un descanso. |
Past took
Use took for the simple past to talk about a finished action at a specific past time. It does not combine with have or be. Time words like yesterday, last week, and in 2020 often signal that you want took.
Utiliza took para el pasado simple para hablar de una acción terminada en un momento pasado específico. No se combina con have ni be. Palabras de tiempo como yesterday, last week y en 2020 suelen indicar que quieres usar took.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use took for finished past actions | 🔹 Usa took para acciones pasadas terminadas | We took a taxi last night. | 🔹 Tomamos un taxi anoche. |
| Do not use took after have | 🔹 No uses took después de have | I have taken the train before. | 🔹 He tomado el tren antes. |
| Use did + take for negatives and questions in past simple | 🔹 Usa did + take para negativas y preguntas en pasado simple | Did you take my keys? | 🔹 ¿Tomaste mis llaves? |
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Participle taken
Taken is the past participle form and normally needs an auxiliary verb. It appears most often with have in perfect tenses and with be in passive voice. You do not use taken alone as the main verb in a simple tense.
Taken es el participio pasado y normalmente necesita un verbo auxiliar. Aparece más a menudo con to have en los tiempos perfectos y con be en la voz pasiva. No se usa taken solo como verbo principal en un tiempo simple.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use have or has + taken for present perfect | 🔹 Usa have o has + taken para el presente perfecto | I have taken this class before. | 🔹 He tomado esta clase antes. |
| Use had + taken for past perfect | 🔹 Usa had + taken para el pasado perfecto | She had taken the wrong train. | 🔹 Ella había tomado el tren equivocado. |
| Use be + taken for passive voice | 🔹 Usa be + taken para voz pasiva | The money was taken from the desk. | 🔹 El dinero fue tomado del escritorio. |
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Perfect tenses
Perfect tenses use taken to connect a past action to a later time. Present perfect focuses on life experience or a past action with present relevance. Past perfect shows that one past action happened before another past moment.
Los tiempos perfectos usan taken para conectar una acción pasada con un momento posterior. El presente perfecto se centra en la experiencia de vida o una acción pasada con relevancia en el presente. El pasado perfecto muestra que una acción pasada ocurrió antes de otro momento pasado.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use have or has + taken for experience or relevance now | 🔹 Usa have o has + taken para experiencia o relevancia ahora | They have taken that route many times. | 🔹 Han tomado esa ruta muchas veces. |
| Use had + taken for earlier past action | 🔹 Usa had + taken para una acción pasada anterior | By noon, he had taken three calls. | 🔹 Para el mediodía, él había tomado tres llamadas. |
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Passive voice
In passive voice, the focus is on what happened to the object, not who did it. Use a form of be plus taken, and add by + agent only if the doer matters. Passive is common in news, formal writing, and when the agent is unknown.
En la voz pasiva, el foco está en lo que pasó al objeto, no en quién lo hizo. Usa una forma de be más taken, y añade by + agente solo si el agente importa. La voz pasiva es común en noticias, escritura formal y cuando el agente es desconocido.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use be + taken to emphasize the result on the object | 🔹 Usa be + taken para enfatizar el resultado en el objeto | My bag was taken. | 🔹 Mi bolso fue tomado. |
| Add by + agent only when important | 🔹 Añade by + agente solo cuando importe | The painting was taken by thieves. | 🔹 La pintura fue tomada por ladrones. |
| Match be to the time | 🔹 Ajusta be al tiempo | The documents are taken to the office every morning. | 🔹 Los documentos son llevados a la oficina todas las mañanas. |
Questions negatives
For present and past simple, use do-support: do or does with take, and did with take. For perfect tenses, put have, has, or had before the subject and keep taken. This keeps the main verb form consistent and avoids errors like did took or have took.
Para el presente y pasado simple, usa el auxilar do: do o does con take, y did con take. Para los tiempos perfectos, coloca have, has o had antes del sujeto y mantén taken. Esto mantiene la forma del verbo principal consistente y evita errores como did took o have took.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple questions use do or does + take | 🔹 Las preguntas del presente simple usan do o does + take | Does he take the train? | 🔹 ¿Toma él el tren? |
| Past simple questions use did + take | 🔹 Las preguntas del pasado simple usan did + take | Did they take a photo? | 🔹 ¿Tomaron una foto? |
| Present perfect questions use have or has + taken | 🔹 Las preguntas del presente perfecto usan have o has + taken | Have you taken the test? | 🔹 ¿Has tomado la prueba? |
| Negatives use do not or does not + take, did not + take | 🔹 Las negativas usan do not o does not + take, did not + take | She did not take the call. | 🔹 Ella no tomó la llamada. |
Common meanings
Take is highly flexible and its form changes with tense, but the core meanings stay stable. It can mean pick up or carry, accept or receive, consume, or travel by a method. Understanding the meaning helps you choose the right object and preposition with take.
Take es muy flexible y su forma cambia con el tiempo, pero los significados centrales se mantienen estables. Puede significar recoger o cargar, aceptar o recibir, consumir o viajar por un medio. Comprender el significado te ayuda a elegir el objeto correcto y la preposición adecuada con take.
Word/Phrase | 🇪🇸 Español Palabra/Frase | Definition | 🇪🇸 Español Definición | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| take something | 🔹 take something | pick up or carry | 🔹 tomar algo | Take your jacket. | 🔹 Toma tu chaqueta. |
| take a bus train taxi | 🔹 take a bus train taxi | travel using a method | 🔹 viajar usando un método | I took the subway. | 🔹 Tomé el metro. |
| take medicine | 🔹 take medicine | consume a drug or pill | 🔹 consumir un medicamento o píldora | He takes this medicine daily. | 🔹 Él toma este medicamento a diario. |
| take a break | 🔹 take a break | stop working briefly | 🔹 dejar de trabajar brevemente | Let’s take a break. | 🔹 Vamos a tomar un descanso. |
| take a photo | 🔹 take a photo | capture an image | 🔹 capturar una imagen | She took a photo of the view. | 🔹 Ella tomó una foto de la vista. |
Take patterns
Many common phrases use take plus a noun, and they work in all tenses by switching to took or taken. Learn the phrase as a unit, then change only the verb form to match the grammar. This makes your English sound natural and fluent.
Muchos expresiones hechas usan take seguido de un sustantivo, y funcionan en todos los tiempos cambiando a took o taken. Aprende la frase como una unidad, luego cambia solo la forma verbal para concordar con la gramática. Esto hace que tu inglés suene natural y fluido.
Word/Phrase | 🇪🇸 Español Palabra/Frase | Definition | 🇪🇸 Español Definición | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| take a shower | 🔹 take a shower | wash yourself | 🔹 tomar una ducha | I took a shower earlier. | 🔹 I took a shower earlier. |
| take a look | 🔹 take a look | look briefly | 🔹 echar un vistazo | Have you taken a look at it? | 🔹 Have you taken a look at it? |
| take responsibility | 🔹 take responsibility | accept duty or blame | 🔹 asumir la responsabilidad | She has taken responsibility. | 🔹 She has taken responsibility. |
| take place | 🔹 take place | happen | 🔹 ocurrir | The meeting took place yesterday. | 🔹 The meeting took place yesterday. |
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Time signals
Time expressions often guide which form you need. Definite finished times usually call for took. Unfinished time periods, life experience, or results important now often call for have or has taken.
Las expresiones de tiempo suelen indicar qué forma necesitas. Los tiempos pasados finitos suelen requerir took. Los periodos de tiempo no terminados, la experiencia de vida o resultados importantes ahora suelen requerir have o has taken.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definite past time often uses took | 🔹 El tiempo pasado definido suele usar took | I took the exam on Monday. | 🔹 Tomé el examen el lunes. |
| Unfinished time periods often use have taken | 🔹 Los periodos de tiempo no terminados suelen usar have taken | We have taken three calls today. | 🔹 Hemos tomado tres llamadas hoy. |
| Life experience often uses have taken | 🔹 La experiencia de vida suele usar have taken | She has taken a cooking class before. | 🔹 Ella ha tomado una clase de cocina antes. |
