Irregular verb in English, past tense of Drive: Drive - Drove - Driven

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What is the past tense of Drive? How is the irregular verb Drive conjugated in English? Let’s explore it in detail in the article below, Preppies!

I. What is Drive?
II. What are V0, V2, V3 of Drive? The past tense of Drive in English
III. Conjugation of the Verb Drive
1. 1. In tenses
2. 2. In special sentence structures
IV. Phrasal Verbs with Drive in English
V. Idioms with Drive in English
VI. Exercises on Conjugating the Verb Drive with Answers
1. 1. Exercises
2. 2. Answer keys

I. What is Drive?

What is the past tense of Drive? First, let’s understand the concept of Drive!

Drive is pronounced /draɪv/ and serves as a verb and noun with several meanings, such as:

Meaning	Example
To operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle. (v)	John drives to work every day.
To motivate or push someone to do something; to cause to take action. (v)	Her passion drives her to achieve her goals.
To force something into a particular situation or action; to compel. (v)	The noise is driving me crazy!
A journey in a vehicle, especially for pleasure. (n)	We went for a drive in the countryside.
The internal or external force that stimulates action or motivation. (n)	Her drive to succeed is incredible.
A short road leading to a house, usually for vehicles to use (n)	The house is at the end of a long drive.
An organized effort to achieve a goal, often involving multiple activities or campaigns (n)	The company launched a new marketing drive to boost sales.

II. What are V0, V2, V3 of Drive? The past tense of Drive in English

What is the past tense of Drive? V0, V2, and V3 are abbreviations for: the base form, simple past, and past participle of Drive. Let’s take a closer look at the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Drive in the table below:

Verb form		Example
V0	Drive /draɪv/	John drives to work every morning to avoid the traffic.
V2	Drove /droʊv/	John drove car to work yesterday morning to avoid the traffic.
V3	Driven /ˈdrɪv.ən/	John has driven car to work since 6 o’clock to avoid the traffic.

Drive past tense and past participle are: Drive in past simple is Drove and Drive past participle is Driven.

III. Conjugation of the Verb Drive

What is the past tense of Drive? How is the verb Drive conjugated in the 12 English tenses and special structures? Let’s explore this below!

1. In tenses

12 tenses in English	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	drive	drives	drive
	I drive to work every morning. He drives his kids to school every day. They drive to the countryside on weekends.
Present progressive tense	am driving	is driving	are driving
	I am driving to the grocery store right now. He is driving to work at the moment. They are driving across the city to meet their friends.
Present perfect tense	have driven	has driven	have driven
	I have driven to the office already today. He has driven the new car many times this week. They have driven across the country several times
Present perfect progressive tense	have been driving	has been driving	have been driving
	I have been driving for two hours without a break. He has been driving since early this morning. They have been driving all day to reach their destination.
Past simple tense	drove	drove	drove
	I drove to the mountains last weekend. He drove his family to the beach yesterday. They drove to the concert last night.
Past progressive tense	was driving	was driving	were driving
	I was driving home when the storm hit. He was driving to work when the accident happened. They were driving through the city when they got lost.
Past perfect tense	had driven	had driven	had driven
	I had driven to the airport before the flight was canceled. He had driven that route many times before the new highway opened. They had driven all night before they reached their destination.
Past perfect progressive tense	had been driving	had been driving	had been driving
	I had been driving for hours before I realized I was lost. He had been driving for three hours when he decided to take a break. They had been driving all night before they found a place to stay.
Future simple tense	will drive	will drive	will drive
	I will drive to the city tomorrow. He will drive to the meeting next week. They will drive to the wedding this weekend.
Future progressive tense	will be driving	will be driving	will be driving
	I will be driving to work at 8 AM tomorrow. He will be driving to the airport when you arrive. They will be driving to reach their destination at 7 PM tomorrow.
Future perfect tense	will have driven	will have driven	will have driven
	I will have driven 500 miles by the time I get home. He will have driven the new car by next week. They will have driven halfway across the country by this time tomorrow.
Future perfect progressive tense	will have been driving	will have been driving	will have been driving
	I will have been driving for three hours by the time I arrive. He will have been driving for a week by the time he finishes his road trip. They will have been driving all day when they reach the mountains.

2. In special sentence structures

Special Structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional Sentences
Second conditional - Main Clause	would drive	would drive	would drive
Second conditional - Main Clause	If I lived closer, I would drive to work instead of taking the bus. If he had more free time, he would drive to visit his family more often. If they had a car, they would drive across the country for a road trip.
Third conditional - Main Clause	would have driven	would have driven	would have driven
Third conditional - Main Clause	If I had known about the traffic, I would have driven a different route. If he hadn’t missed the meeting, he would have driven home earlier. If they had left on time, they would have driven through the city before the rush hour.
Subjunctive Mood
Subjunctive expressing present situation	drive	drive	drive
Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact	drove	drove	drove
Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact	had driven	had driven	had driven
Example	If I drive to work, I usually take the highway to save time. If he drove his own car, he would save time on his commute. If they had driven through the night, they would have arrived by morning.

IV. Phrasal Verbs with Drive in English

In addition to the knowledge about the past tense of Drive mentioned above, let’s explore the list of phrasal verbs with Drive in English below!

Phrasal verb with Drive	Meaning	Example
drive at something	To imply or attempt to explain something, often in a way that is not direct.	John kept talking about the new project, but I didn’t understand what he was driving at.
drive off	To leave a place in a vehicle; to depart	After saying goodbye to her friends, Sarah drove off quickly.

V. Idioms with Drive in English

In addition to the knowledge about the past form of Drive mentioned above, let's take a look at the idioms with Drive in English below:

Idioms with Drive	Meaning	Example
be in the driving seat	To be in control or have decision-making power in a situation	Alice was in the driving seat during the meeting, making all the important decisions.
drive your message/point home	To emphasize or make your message or point clear and easily understood	Tom used several examples to drive his point home during the presentation.
drive someone to drink	To compel or cause someone to drink alcohol as a way to escape their troubles or stress	The constant stress at work drove Mark to drink more frequently.
drive a coach and horses through something	To expose or highlight the flaws or gaps in something, making it ineffective or useless	Jane drove a coach and horses through the company's new policy, arguing it was impractical.
drive a hard bargain	To negotiate skillfully and firmly, showing no willingness to compromise	David drove a hard bargain when negotiating the contract with the client.

VI. Exercises on Conjugating the Verb Drive with Answers

To gain a better understanding of the past tense of Drive, let's complete the following English verb conjugation exercises with PREP!

1. Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the correct form of the verb "drive" in the sentences below:

Every morning, John __________ (drive) to work at 8 AM.
Anna __________ (drive) her new car around the city right now.
By the end of this month, they __________ (have driven) over 1,000 miles on their road trip.
Jack __________ (drive) to the countryside last weekend.
We __________ (drive) to the beach every summer since we were kids.

Exercise 2: Choose the correct answer

If John __________ (drive) more carefully, he wouldn’t have had an accident.

a) drives
b) drove
c) had driven

I __________ (drive) to the office every day, but today I’m working from home.

a) am driving
b) drive
c) have driven

Maria __________ (drive) the kids to school when she realized she forgot her phone.

a) was driving
b) drove
c) has driven

We __________ (drive) to the mountains next weekend.

a) are driving
b) will drive
c) drive

By the time we arrived, they __________ (drive) for 12 hours straight.

a) were driving
b) have driven
c) had driven

2. Answer keys

Exercise 1	Exercise 2
drives is driving will have driven drove have driven	B B A B C

In this article, PREP has introduced you to the concepts, idioms, phrasal verbs, and the past tense of Drive. Stay tuned with PREP for more valuable English knowledge!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.