“Had know” or “had known”: which is correct?
had known
The short answer
The correct form is had known, where had is the auxiliary verb and known is the past participle.
Why people get it wrong
People often make this error due to confusion between know as a present or past simple form and known as the past participle. The structure of past perfect tense requires the past participle form, not the bare infinitive or present form of the verb.
What kind of mistake it is
This is a grammatical error involving the use of incorrect verb tense. Specifically, it is an error in forming the past perfect tense.
Examples with had known
- I wish I had known about the meeting earlier.
- If she had known the truth, she would have acted differently.
- They realized they had known each other for years.
Quick check
I wish I about the meeting earlier.
The correct form is had known, where had is the auxiliary verb and known is the past participle.
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