When we talk about things that happened in the past, we often change the form of our verbs. “Teach” is one such verb that changes to tell us that the action happened before now. In English, the word “taught” is used to describe the past form of “teach,” Let’s explore these differences in simple terms.
“Taught”: The Past Tense of “Teach”
When we use the word “taught,” we are talking about an action of teaching that has already happened. For example, if your friend showed you how to bake a cake yesterday, you would say, “My friend taught me how to bake a cake.” Here, “taught” is the correct past form of “teach,” indicating that the teaching happened in the past.
Examples in Sentences:
Use “taught” whenever you’re talking about a teaching moment that has finished. For example:
- Yesterday, the teacher taught us about dinosaurs.
- My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was a child.
- Last week, our coach taught us new football strategies.
- Last year, my sister taught me how to swim.
- Our teacher taught us about the planets in the solar system.
- Our coach taught us a new strategy last week.
Why “Taught” and Not “Teached”?
English can be tricky sometimes because it doesn’t always follow simple rules. The word “teach” is one of those cases. It comes from an old way of forming past tenses that we don’t use much anymore. That’s why we say “taught” instead of “teached.”
Examples to Understand Better
- Correct: Yesterday, I taught my friend how to bake cookies.
- Incorrect: Yesterday, I teached my friend how to bake cookies.
- Correct: Last year, our teacher taught us about the solar system.
- Incorrect: Last year, our teacher teached us about the solar system.
Important Tips
- No Changes Needed: “Taught” doesn’t change whether it’s one person, many people, something, or someone specific you’re talking about. “She taught” and “They taught” are both correct.
- Regular vs. Irregular: Some verbs add “ed” to make the past form (like “walk” to “walked”), but “teach” is irregular, so it changes to “taught.”
- Time Matters: Use “taught” only when speaking about the past. If it’s happening now or will happen, use “teach” or “will teach.”
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