Q&A for How to Tell the Differences Between Take and Took

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Is "take the approval" or "took the approval" correct?

Community Answer

"Take the approval" is correct in present or future tense, as in "I take the approval" or "I will take the approval." "Took the approval" is correct in past tense, as in "I took the approval."

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Which one is correct: "Who take you there" or "Who took you there"?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Took.

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Question

"I was in the car when I take/took this picture." Which one is correct?

Community Answer

"Took" is correct.

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Are both correct? "Do you know why we took it?" versus "Why did we take it?"

Donagan

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Yes, both are correct.

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Last year I take math class or took math class?

Donagan

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Because "last year" is in the past, use "took."

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Question

Is it "I watched my son take apart" or "took apart" his Rubiks cube?

Community Answer

"Take."

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Question

Is "business tycoon takes his staff on vacation" or "business tycoon took his staff on vacation" correct?

Community Answer

The difference is, they reference different times the business tycoon did it. 1. Hes doing it now. 2. He did it in the past.

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"It took three hours to reach school" or "it takes three hours to reach school"?

Donagan

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If it happened in the past: it took three hours. If it happens from time to time, it takes three hours.

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Question

Why do we use the expression "actions taken" rather than "actions took"?

Donagan

Top Answerer

"Taken" is the past participle of "take" and is used here to describe the kind of "actions" that have occurred (they are "taken" actions). "Took" is a past-tense verb that explains what the actions did (which presumably is not the intent here).

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Question

Did you take up the book, or took up?

Donagan

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"Did take" means the same thing as "took."

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Question

"It took 10 days before she could speak fluently"? Or would it be "take"?

Donagan

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This occurred in the past: "it took ten days before she could speak fluently."

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Is it correct to say, "The following applicants will took the proficiency test next month"?

Community Answer

No. You would need to use "take" instead of "took."

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Is it "I took a nap for 5" or "I take a nap from 5?"

Donagan

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It simply depends on whether you mean present tense or past tense.

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Question

Is it, "How long did it take you to get there?" or, "How long did it took you to get there?"

Kayla Frederic

Community Answer

"How long did it take you to get there?" Just remember that if you are asking a question, it will always be "take."

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Question

Which is correct: "Who saw the accused take/took the purse from the complainant's bag?"

Donagan

Top Answerer

Take.

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Question

"Did the steps we took convince our members" or "Did the steps we take convince..."?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Let the two verbs in each sentence match each other in tense: "Did the steps we took..." and "Do the steps we take..."

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Question

Would I write my sentence "They let me 'take' or 'took' my exam last year"?

Community Answer

"They let me take" would be the proper way to write the sentence. If you want to use the word took, you would have to be talking about taking the exam by itself. For example, "I took my exam last year."

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Question

If asking a question, should I use take or took?

Donagan

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You could use either: "Did you take my lunch?" or " Who took my lunch?"

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Question

"She took time on doing the assignments" - is this correct?

Donagan

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"She took her time doing the assignments."

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