The English language can often be tricky when it comes to verb tenses. One such example involves the verb seek. Many people find themselves wondering about the correct past tense form of seek. Is it seeked or sought? To make things even more confusing, the verb seek doesn’t follow the typical pattern of adding “-ed” to form the past tense, like regular verbs. Instead, the past tense of seek is sought.
In this article, we’ll break down the confusion between seeked vs sought and answer the question once and for all: What is the past tense of seek? Along with this, we’ll explore various scenarios, including emails and practical examples, to help you understand when and how to use these terms in everyday communication.
Let’s dive in.
What is the Past Tense of Seek?
To begin with, let’s answer the question most people ask when they first encounter this issue: What is the past tense of seek?
The correct past tense of seek is sought.
While it might seem intuitive to say seeked due to the general rule of adding “-ed” for regular verbs, seek is an irregular verb. Irregular verbs don’t follow the common pattern of adding “-ed” for their past forms. Instead, they change form in a variety of ways. For instance, go becomes went, and bring becomes brought. Similarly, seek changes to sought in the past tense.
To further clarify this, let’s look at an example:
- Present tense: I seek your advice.
- Past tense: Yesterday, I sought your advice.
Seeked or Sought?
One of the most common questions people ask is whether seeked is ever correct. The answer is simple: No, seeked is not a standard past tense form of seek.
Many non-native English speakers or even native speakers who are unfamiliar with the irregularity of the verb may mistakenly use seeked. However, the proper form is always sought, no matter the context.
For example:
- Incorrect: She seeked help from her mentor.
- Correct: She sought help from her mentor.
This error is fairly common, especially because seeked sounds like it could be a logical option when following the “-ed” rule. However, sought is firmly entrenched in the language as the past tense of seek.
Seeked vs Sought: Understanding the Difference
If you’re still unsure, let’s look at a few more examples that compare seeked vs sought to help you understand the distinction.
| Incorrect Form | Correct Form |
|---|---|
| She seeked advice. | She sought advice. |
| They seeked answers to the problem. | They sought answers to the problem. |
| We have never seeked forgiveness. | We have never sought forgiveness. |
As you can see, using seeked is grammatically incorrect in all cases, while sought is the proper choice.
Examples of ‘Sought’ in Different Contexts
To really solidify the understanding of sought, let’s explore some scenarios where the past tense of seek is used in everyday language. We’ll go through a few different examples that show how you can incorporate sought into emails, conversations, and formal letters.
Scenario 1: Writing an Email to a Colleague
Subject: Follow-Up on the Research Proposal
Dear John,
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to follow up on the research proposal I sent last week. As we discussed, I sought approval from the project managers, and I’m awaiting their final feedback.
I would appreciate it if you could let me know if there is anything else I should prepare in the meantime.
Best regards,
Jane
In this email, sought is used correctly to describe an action that was completed in the past (seeking approval).
Scenario 2: A Job Application Cover Letter
Subject: Application for Marketing Manager Position
Dear Hiring Manager,
I am writing to express my interest in the Marketing Manager position at XYZ Corp. As a seasoned marketing professional with over 10 years of experience, I have always sought innovative solutions to increase brand visibility and drive sales.
In my previous role, I successfully sought out new partnerships that resulted in a 25% increase in revenue.
I would love the opportunity to discuss how my skills can contribute to your team.
Sincerely,
Maria Gonzalez
In this scenario, sought highlights the candidate’s past efforts in searching for solutions and partnerships, demonstrating her proactive nature.
Scenario 3: Informal Conversation
Imagine a conversation between two friends:
Friend 1: Have you heard back from Mark about the event next week?
Friend 2: Yeah, I sought his opinion on the guest list, and he said he’d get back to me soon.
Here, sought is used to indicate that Friend 2 actively reached out to Mark for his opinion.
Scenario 4: Business Letter to a Client
Dear Mr. Thompson,
I hope you are doing well. I wanted to update you on the status of your request. We have sought the necessary permissions and are now in the process of reviewing the options with the team.
We will keep you informed and reach out once we have finalized the details.
Best regards,
Samuel Stevens
Customer Relations Manager
In this letter, sought shows that the company has already taken the necessary action to look for the required permissions.
Why Not “Seeked”?
If you’re wondering why we don’t say seeked, there’s an interesting reason behind it. English, like many other languages, has a long history of evolving, and many irregular verbs have roots that date back centuries. Over time, the past tense of seek evolved into sought, likely influenced by Old English forms of the verb.
English speakers today just accept the irregularity of these verbs as part of the language, making sought the correct past form.
To put it simply: English has a system for irregular verbs that doesn’t always follow the predictable “-ed” rule, and seek is one of the many verbs that doesn’t fit the mold.
Other Common Irregular Verbs Like ‘Seek’
Just as seek transforms into sought, there are other irregular verbs that can trip up even seasoned English speakers. Here are a few examples:
- Go → Went
- Bring → Brought
- Catch → Caught
- Buy → Bought
Like seek, these verbs don’t follow the usual past-tense pattern. Instead, they change entirely. It’s important to recognize these irregularities and understand that the past tense of seek is sought.
Final Thoughts: Sought or Seeked?
To answer the burning question: The past tense of seek is sought, never seeked.
When writing, speaking, or even in professional communications like emails or letters, you should always use sought when referring to something you searched for or desired in the past. Whether you’re explaining how you sought approval, sought help, or sought advice, it’s crucial to remember that seeked is incorrect.
Key Takeaways:
- The past tense of seek is sought, not seeked.
- Seeked is not a standard past-tense form in English.
- Use sought in sentences like “I sought advice” or “She sought a solution.”
- Irregular verbs like seek don’t follow the “-ed” rule and must be memorized.
- Be mindful of using sought or seeked—always opt for sought in professional and casual contexts.
