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Correcting the past: why "had sowed" doesn't work
Lloyd Cooper 19/10/2024, 03:31English.me team member
What kind of error is it?
It's a tense error involving the misuse of the past perfect tense.
Why do people make this mistake?
People use "had sowed" incorrectly because they might think it's the regular past perfect form of "sow", not realizing "sow" has an irregular past participle "sown".
What is correct?
The correct form should be "had sown" since "sown" is the past participle of "sow".
Examples of correct usage
- By the time spring arrived, the farmer had already sown the seeds.
- They had sown doubt in his mind before the negotiations began.
- She realized that she had sown the garden with the wrong seeds.
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