ENGLISH
REFERENCE

went

v.
US //ˈwɛnt// UK //wˈɛnt// went
  1. 1 past tense of go (v.)
    A1 Beginner

    the past tense of 'go'; you use this to say that you moved from one place to another in the past.

    the irregular simple past tense of 'go'. It functions as the preterite for all senses of 'go', including physical movement, change of state, and the passage of time.

    Example

    We went to the beach last Saturday because the weather was so warm.

    Example

    After the meeting concluded, the entire department went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate the successful launch of the project.

    Usage

    This is an irregular past tense form; it does not take the '-ed' ending.

    Pitfall
    I have went to the store already.
    I have gone to the store already.

    In standard English, 'went' is only for the simple past. Use 'gone' after 'have', 'has', or 'had'.

Origin

Originally the simple past and past participle of wend, but now the past of go due to suppletion. While wend is akin to wind, compare typologically Russian смота́ться (smotátʹsja), сма́тываться (smátyvatʹsja), умота́ть (umotátʹ), ума́тывать (umátyvatʹ) (akin to мота́ть (motátʹ)).

© 2026 English Reference