What Is The Past Tense Of Grow?

The past tense of grow is grew, and the past participle is grown, so your sentence depends on whether you’re using a helper verb.

Grow is one of those verbs that feels easy until you have to write it. You’ll hear “grew” and “grown” in daily speech, then freeze when you’re typing an assignment or an email.

If you’ve ever typed “what is the past tense of grow?” and second-guessed yourself, you’re not alone. The good news: there’s a clean rule, plus a few patterns that make it stick.

Grow is an irregular verb, so it doesn’t follow the usual “-ed” pattern. That’s why you see two different past forms in real writing.

Grew is the simple past form. Grown is the past participle, which teams up with helper verbs like have, has, had, and forms used with be.

Verb Form	When It Fits	Sample Sentence
grow	Base form (present, infinitive)	I grow tomatoes each summer.
grows	Present, third-person singular	She grows herbs on the balcony.
growing	-ing form (continuous tenses, gerund)	They are growing faster this month.
grew	Simple past (finished time)	The child grew two inches last year.
grown	Past participle (with have/has/had, passive)	The seedlings have grown since Monday.
have grown	Present perfect (past to now)	Sales have grown since the relaunch.
had grown	Past perfect (earlier past before another past)	By noon, the line had grown longer.
were grown	Passive voice (object takes the spotlight here)	The grapes were grown on a nearby farm.

Grew Vs Grown: The Quick Rule That Stops Mistakes

When you write about a finished moment in the past, choose grew. When you use a helper verb (have/has/had) or a passive form, choose grown.

This rule works whether you mean “increase” (numbers growing) or “develop” (a child growing). It also holds when grow is literal, like plants.

Use “Grew” For A Finished Past Time

Use grew when the action is done and tied to a past time like yesterday, last week, or in 2019. You’re telling the reader, “This happened, then it ended.”

Try pairing grew with a clear time marker so the sentence feels locked in.

The class grew quieter after the bell rang.
Our team grew stronger during the season.
Her confidence grew once she practiced daily.

Use “Grown” With Helper Verbs

Grown needs company. Most often, that company is have or has (present perfect) or had (past perfect).

If you’re checking your form, look for the helper verb first. If it’s there, the next word is usually the participle: grown.

They have grown closer over the past year.
She has grown used to the early mornings.
The crowd had grown restless before the speaker arrived.

Time Words That Match Each Form

Time words act like signposts. They often tell you which form to pick before you even reach the verb.

Grew often pairs with: yesterday, last night, last year, in 2018, on Monday.
Have/has grown often pairs with: since, so far, up to now, over the past few months.
Had grown often pairs with: by the time, before, earlier that day.

If your sentence has “since,” your next step is to look for have/has and use grown. If it has a finished date, grew is usually the fit.

Use “Grown” In Passive Voice

In passive voice, the object takes the spotlight. With grow, this often shows up in farming, manufacturing, and process writing.

You’ll see a form of be plus grown: was grown, were grown, is grown, are grown.

The rice was grown in lowland fields.
These flowers are grown without heated greenhouses.

If you want a quick confirmation of the forms, check a reputable dictionary entry like Merriam-Webster’s “grow” entry.

Past Tense Of Grow In School And Work Writing

In school writing, you’ll often use grow to describe change over time: skills, grades, reading level, or a character’s maturity. In workplace writing, it shows up in reports, progress notes, and performance updates.

The tense choice is the same in both places. The only thing that changes is how precise your time words need to be.

When You Mean “Increase”

Use grew when the increase happened during a finished period. Use have grown when the increase started earlier and still matters now.

Website traffic grew during the first week of the campaign.
Website traffic has grown since the new pages went live.

When You Mean “Develop Over Time”

Grow can describe people, habits, and abilities. This is where writers often mix up “grew” and “grown” because the change feels gradual.

Stick to the helper-verb check. If you have has or have, you want grown.

He grew more patient after months of practice.
He has grown more patient since starting the routine.

When You Mean “Raise” Or “Produce”

Grow also means to cultivate plants or produce crops. This sense is common in passive voice, since the crop matters more than the grower.

They grew corn on the east field.
The corn was grown on the east field.

If you want a second reference with clear tense labels, the Cambridge Dictionary entry for “grow” lists the past and participle forms.

Grow Up, Grow Out Of, Grow On, And Grow Into

Grow appears in common phrases that behave like mini-verbs. The good news is you still use the same past forms: grew for simple past and grown for the participle.

Grow Up

“Grow up” means to become an adult, or to mature in behavior. The past tense is grew up.

I grew up in a small town.
They have grown up so fast.

Grow Out Of

“Grow out of” often means to stop a habit or to become too big for clothes. Watch the object: you grow out of something.

She grew out of that jacket in one season.
He has grown out of biting his nails.

Grow On

“Grow on” means something becomes more pleasing with time. It’s common in casual reviews and reflections.

The new routine grew on me.
The soundtrack has grown on me lately.

Grow Into

“Grow into” is used for roles, responsibilities, and clothing. It can mean you become suited to something as time passes.

She grew into the leadership role.
He has grown into his new shoes.

Past Tense Questions And Negatives With “Did”

This is the spot that trips up many writers: when you use did, the main verb goes back to its base form. So you don’t write “did grew.” You write did grow.

The same rule applies with didn’t (did not). Your tense is carried by did, so the main verb stays as grow.

Past Tense Questions

Did the plants grow overnight?
Did your interest in the subject grow during the course?
When did the crowd grow so large?

Past Tense Negatives

The seedlings didn’t grow in the shaded area.
My confidence didn’t grow until I got feedback.
The problem didn’t grow worse after the fix.

Once you spot did or didn’t, you can stop worrying about grew vs grown in that sentence. Your choice is simply grow.

“Grown” As An Adjective

You’ll also see grown used like an adjective. In these cases, it’s still linked to the past participle idea, but it’s describing a noun rather than acting as the main verb.

a full-grown adult
home-grown vegetables
grown-up behavior

When you write these, the spelling stays the same. The choice isn’t grew vs grown; it’s whether you want a descriptive label or a verb.

Common Mix-Ups With “Grow” (And The Fix)

Most errors come from mixing tense labels. Writers hear “grown” a lot, then drop it into a simple past sentence where “grew” belongs.

When you’re editing, scan for helper verbs. If there’s no helper verb, grew usually wins.

Common Mistake	Correct Form	Why It’s Correct
She grown taller last year.	She grew taller last year.	“Last year” signals a finished past time.
They have grew closer.	They have grown closer.	“Have” needs a past participle.
The plants were grew inside.	The plants were grown inside.	Passive voice uses the participle.
My skills have grew a lot.	My skills have grown a lot.	Present perfect uses have/has + participle.
By Friday, the group has grown quiet.	By Friday, the group grew quiet.	If Friday is a finished point in the past, simple past fits.
He grew up so fast since 2020.	He has grown up so fast since 2020.	“Since” links past time to now, so present perfect fits.
These apples are grew locally.	These apples are grown locally.	Passive present needs “are” + participle.

Quick Practice: Pick “Grew” Or “Grown”

Practice makes this feel automatic. Read each sentence out loud and listen for a helper verb. If you hear have/has/had or a be-verb used passively, go with grown.

The kid ____ three inches last summer.
Our costs have ____ since January.
The team ____ closer after the trip.
Those tomatoes were ____ in raised beds.
I’ve ____ tired of that excuse.
By the time we arrived, the line had ____ around the corner.
She ____ out of her shoes in a month.
The idea has ____ on me over time.
He ____ into the role after a few weeks.
The seedlings ____ quickly once the weather warmed.

Answer List

grew
grown
grew
grown
grown
grown
grew
grown
grew
grew

What To Write When You’re Still Unsure

If you’re stuck mid-sentence, do a quick swap test. Try the sentence with have in front of the verb. If that version sounds right, you likely need grown.

If adding have makes the sentence sound off, you likely need grew. This tiny check catches most slip-ups in seconds.

Two Safe Templates

Simple past: Subject + grew + rest of sentence + past time word.
Perfect form: Subject + have/has/had + grown + rest of sentence.

One more thing: the sentence “I have grew” is a common typo in quick drafts. If you see it, fix it on sight.

And if you’re writing a grammar note or worksheet, you can answer the question directly: “what is the past tense of grow?” is answered by grew.

Last Check Before You Submit

Use this short checklist to clean up grow sentences during editing. It’s also handy when you’re proofreading on a phone.

Look for helper verbs (have/has/had, was/were, is/are). If you spot one, use grown.
If there’s no helper verb and a finished time word appears, use grew.
If you wrote “grown” after a clear past time word, swap it to “grew.”
If you wrote “grew” after have/has/had, swap it to “grown.”
Read the sentence once out loud. Your ear often catches tense clashes fast.