Swung or Swinged: Past Tense and Participle of Swing

By the way, past participles cause their own chaos. We get things like “I have wrote” when it should be “I have written.” If that mix-up gnaws at you, this breakdown on written vs writen is the exact bandage you need.

Verb forms at a glance

Here’s the simple layout you can screenshot and never think about again.

If you want a broader cheatsheet that covers lots of verbs (including those pesky “drink/drank/drunk” types), the British Council list of irregular verbs is rock-solid.

Examples you can steal (I won’t tell)

• Present: I swing my backpack onto the chair.
• Past: I swung the door open and immediately regretted it.
• Present perfect: I have swung a tennis racket exactly twice. Both times ended with apologies.
• Past perfect: By noon, we had swung the vote our way.
• Continuous: I was swinging pretty high until the chain squeaked and my survival instinct kicked in.

Plural nouns give people grief too. When in doubt, check patterns. For example, it’s “chiefs,” not “chieves.” Seen that one a lot. Here’s a quick refresher: chiefs, not chieves.

Common mistakes and why our brains make them

I’ve graded hundreds of essays where people wrote “swinged.” It’s not because they’re bad writers. It’s because the brain tries to regularize everything. Add -ed, ship it, move on. Totally normal. The trick is just memorizing the top 50 irregular forms you use weekly.

Definitions can help pin your memory. I like how Merriam-Webster defines “swing” with clean examples. Read two or three in context. Works way faster than flashcards.

Spelling doubles can trip you, too. One letter changes meaning. Forest vs forrest? Painful. Keep it straight with this guide on forest vs forrest. Same attention helps when you’re deciding verb forms.

Mini answers to the questions I get every week

What’s the past tense of “swing”?

Swung. Always the safe choice in modern English.

What’s the past participle of “swing”?

Swung. So, “I have swung,” not “I have swinged.”

Is “swinged” ever correct?

In modern usage for the motion meaning? No. You might see it in older texts, usually connected to an archaic sense. If you’re writing standard present-day English, avoid it.

Why do some verbs refuse -ed?

History. Irregular verbs survived from older language patterns. We kept them because language is a chaotic museum with rent control.

How can I remember “swung”? Any trick?

Group it with “sing/sang/sung” and “ring/rang/rung.” “Swing/swung/swung” sticks better in that family.

What I look for when editing (aka how I catch it in 0.3 seconds)

In my experience, the tell is sentence rhythm. “I swinged the bat” clangs. “I swung the bat” snaps. It just sounds like English. Read your sentence out loud. If your tongue does a tiny side-eye, you found the error.

Compare with other tricky pairs

When people debate “swinged or swung,” they’re usually stuck in the same groove as choose/chose/choosing or write/wrote/written. The fix is identical: identify the verb’s three core forms and memorize them. No need to over-theorize. Keep a cheat card. Stick it to your monitor. Or tattoo it. (Not legal advice. But funny.)

Use-cases: Where I see it most

• Sports writing: “He swung at the third pitch.”
• Narrative essays: “We swung the gate open at dawn.”
• Physics homework: “The pendulum swung with a 2-second period.”
• Politics: “Undecided voters swung late.”
• Music: “The drummer swung harder in the chorus.”

Speed test (say it, don’t study it)

Try reading these quickly. If one sounds wrong, it probably is.

• I swing the club. Yesterday I swung it. I have swung it since last summer.
• They swing the door shut. Last night they swung it quietly. They’ve swung it a hundred times.
• We swing by on Fridays. We swung by last week, too.

Snag list: phrases that tempt people into errors

• “We swinged by the store” — Nope. “We swung by the store.”
• “She has swinged her arms” — Not today. “She has swung her arms.”
• “The market swinged wildly” — Try “The market swung wildly.”

I’ve always found it useful to cross-check when my brain blanks out. If your brain blanks out a lot (same), keep one reliable dictionary handy and don’t overthink it. And yes, this is me telling future-me to stop guessing and double-check.

Another decent reference if you like quick senses and example phrases: Cambridge again, or this tidy one from Collins. They keep it simple, even when English refuses to.

Final gut check

If you’re still weighing swinged or swung, go with “swung.” Your editor will thank you. Your future self will also thank you, which is frankly the only approval that matters when you’re dodging deadlines and coffee jitters. I’ll leave it there before I start ranting about commas again.

FAQs

• Is “swinged” always wrong?

  For modern, everyday English about motion? Yes, use “swung.” “Swinged” shows up in older texts or different senses. Not worth the risk in normal writing.

• What’s the past participle—swung or swinged?

  Swung. As in: “I have swung the door open many times.”

• Does “swinged” appear in dictionaries?

  You might see historical or alternate senses, but main modern usage is “swung.” Stick with standard forms.

• Any fast way to remember irregular verbs?

  Group them: sing/sang/sung, ring/rang/rung, swing/swung/swung. Say them out loud. It helps more than you think.

• What if my teacher says “swinged” is fine?

  Ask for a source. Most modern style guides and dictionaries support “swung.” Use that unless you’re quoting older literature.