“Meet” means to come together with someone, either for the first time or repeatedly. The past tense of “meet” is “met,” which shows an action that happened before now. It helps us describe events that occurred in the past.
Ever wondered why “met” is the past tense of “meet” and not “meeted”? Understanding the past tense of verbs can clear up a lot of confusion. Let’s discuss how and when to use “met” correctly.
Knowing the past tense of “meet” is key to mastering English grammar. By using “met” properly, you can talk about past events clearly. This small change can make a big difference in your writing and speaking.
Past Tense of Meet
The past tense of “meet” is met. This means when you’re talking about an event where you met someone or a group of people in the past, you use “met.” For example, instead of saying “I meet my teacher yesterday,” you say “I met my teacher yesterday.”
When to use meet or met
The verb “meet” is irregular, meaning it doesn’t follow the usual pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tense. Instead of saying “meeted,” we use “met” as both the past tense and the past participle.
“Meet” is the base form, and it’s used when talking about the present or future, like in “We meet again!” or “I will meet him tomorrow.” We also use “meet” as an infinitive, like in “I like to meet new people.” On the other hand, “met” is used for actions that have already happened, like “I met my teacher yesterday.”
A verb is irregular if its past tense or past participle is formed without “-ed.” For example, instead of “meeted,” we say “met.” This is similar to verbs like “let” and “set,” which also don’t change when forming the past tense.
You’ll also use “met” with helping verbs, like “has” or “have,” to form perfect tenses. For instance, “She has met my family,” or “The dogs have met all the neighbors.” Whether in the past or present, knowing when to use “meet” or “met” depends on when the action happens.
The third-person singular simple present of meet
The third-person singular of “meet” is meets. This form is used when talking about someone else, like “he,” “she,” or “it.” For example, you would say, “He meets his friends every Saturday,” or “She meets her boss in the morning.”
In the third-person singular, we simply add an “s” to “meet.” It’s a small change, but it helps us know who we’re talking about. So, whenever you’re referring to one person or thing in the present, you use “meets.”
The present participle of meet
The present participle of “meet” is meeting. This form is used when describing an ongoing action, often combined with helping verbs like “is,” “are,” or “was.” For example, “We are meeting at the library right now” or “She was meeting her friends yesterday.”
You can also use “meeting” as a noun, like when you say, “We have a meeting today.” But as a verb, it shows an action that is happening in the moment or was happening at a specific time in the past.
The past participle of meet
The past participle of “meet” is met. This form is used with helping verbs like “has,” “have,” or “had” to create perfect tenses. For example, you would say, “She has met him before” or “They had met each other at the party.”
The past participle shows that the action of meeting has already been completed. It’s the same form as the past tense of “meet,” making it easy to remember!
Past tense of meet in a sentence examples
Here are some examples using the past tense of “meet” (which is met) in sentences:
- I met my new neighbor yesterday.
- They met at the conference last year.
- We met for lunch after work.
- She met her favorite author at the book signing.
- He met his friend at the park this morning.
Met as a past tense vs Met as a past participle
| Usage | Met as Simple Past Tense | Met as Past Participle |
| Definition | Describes an action that happened in the past | Used with helping verbs to form perfect tenses |
| Example Sentence | “I met her yesterday.” | “I have met her before.” |
| Verb Structure | No helping verbs are needed, stands alone | Used with helping verbs like “have,” “has,” or “had” |
| Verb Tense | Refers to a single event in the past | Refers to a completed action in relation to another time or event |
| Time Reference | Specific past moment | Past action connected to the present or another past event |
This shows how “met” functions differently depending on whether it’s used as a simple past tense or as a past participle.
Read more:
Welcome! I’m glad you’re here. My name is Thomas, and this blog is dedicated to English Grammar and more.
I started this blog to share my Grammar site, and it has evolved into a resource where I provide easy and practical tips to help you for better Grammar.
