Is It "Dived" or "Dove" and Why?

[Brandles]

Which one is gramatically correct and why?

"He dived for the football."

OR

"He dove for the football."

And why? Thanks! :)

[msnicolea]

Actually, I think they are both ok--I looked on Encarta:

Both forms are acceptable as past tenses of dive. Dived is actually an earlier past tense form, but dove has become a standard alternative. This is the reverse of the general tendency of verbs to form their past tense with -ed, as opposed to a change in their vowel, which was more frequently the case in the Old English period. The past participle is nonetheless dived.

I guess I would use dove, as I think more people would consider that correct.

[imagirliegirl]

I would use dove because I think it sounds better. Something just looks/sounds off about dived.

[Happy1]

I also agree that I would use "dove" because it sounds better.

Nikki :D

[Nigellas]

Dove.
:)

[Standrea]

I think Dove sounds better too!

[jajacobsen]

In the English language, it's hard to say "why" to a lot of grammar issues because English is such a mish-mash of Germanic languages with a a strong Roman influence. There are huge exceptions to every rule. Sometimes past tense of a verb is signified with a vowel change (i to o) and sometimes it is indicated with the addition of "ed" on the end of the verb.

I would use "dove."


Current tense: dive. Past tense - dove

Current tense: drive. Past tense - drove (no one says "drived")

Current tense: Live Past tense - Lived - not love.

???????????

So no clear "rule" You just have to learn each one. That is why English is such a hard language to learn.

[phoenics]

It's 'dove'. I don't believe 'dived' is even a word, is it? It's not the past tense form of 'dive'.

[tlew12778]

Dived exists for present perfect --

I have dived off the Great Barrier Reef.
I have dived off cliffs.

[Weddings by]

I thought of the bird when I read the thread title. :D

[villanelle75]

Interestingly (at least, to me), I say, "He dove in Mexico, " but, "He scuba dived in Mexico." "Scuba dived" just sounds so much better than "scuba dove", even when using it in conjugations where I'd use "dove" rather than "dived".

[MsPeachy]

How about "lighted" vs "lit" ?

I was reading the other day and there was a sentence "The candles were lighted." And all I could think was that it should have been "lit" :confused

Or "swam" v. "swum"

[jajacobsen]

Swam is past tense. Swum is present perfect.

"We swam around the lake. We have swum this route many times."

In the sentence above, I think it should be lit. "The candles were lit with care. She has lighted them every night this week."

[AmyE]

My head hurts....

What's amazing is that so many people in this world still want to learn English!:o

[tlew12778]

Isn't the present perfect of "to light" "has lit"?

[villanelle75]

I thought "lit" was the past tense of "to light" and "lighted" was an adjective, but I could be way off on that. "When she lit the candles, the room was lighted enough to read in."

[Kimberland30]

This very thread reminds me of why I failed English. :o

[j*east]

One of my students pointed out that in the British Harry Potter books, Harry "dived" into the bushes (early in Book 5, I think). In the US version, he "dove."

Any Brits care to weigh in?

[tlew12778]

Actually I was going to point out that they use the perfect tenses a lot more in the UK.

The past continuous of "to light" is lit.

For "to dive":
past simple: dived or dove (apparently it is irregular)
participle: dived (present perfect = has dived, past perfect = had dived)
past continuous: dove

[MrsBeckyLP]

Just another viewpoint here. AP style says "dive, dived, diving; Not dove for the past tense."

[skyblu]

I'm a scuba diver and always say "dived". I also learned English in Britain, so maybe that has to do with it?

[joanne511]

I tend to say "dove" but I'm sure I've said "dived" before too. For some reason dove sounds more correct to my ear in many instances.