The verb to swim · Conjugation
Past Perfect of swim
The answer: had swum
B2
A past action that happened before another past action.
Quick answer
The Past Perfect of the verb to swim is had swum.
Example: She had already swum in the lake when I arrived.
Full conjugation in the Past Perfect
| Pronoun | Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | had swum | I'd swum |
| You | had swum | You'd swum |
| He / She / It | had swum | He'd / She'd / It'd swum |
| We | had swum | We'd swum |
| You (pl.) | had swum | You'd swum |
| They | had swum | They'd swum |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. I had swam ❌
After had, use the past participle, not the Past Simple: I had swum. The Past Simple of swim is swam, and the past participle is swum.
2. Yesterday I had gone to the cinema ❌
Use the Past Perfect only for the earlier of two past actions. For one past action, the Past Simple is enough: Yesterday I went to the cinema. With swim: swam for one action, had swum for the action that came first.
3. 'd + past participle = had
'd can mean had or would. Look at the next word. 'd + past participle = had: I'd swum = I had swum. 'd + base form = would: I'd swim = I would swim.
Practice quiz
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Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate swim in the Past Perfect?+
Use had + the past participle swum. The form is the same for every person: I had swum, she had swum, they had swum. The short form is 'd: I'd swum.
When do you use the Past Perfect of swim?+
Use it for an action that happened before another action in the past. It shows which action came first: When we arrived, the film had already started. The film started first, and then we arrived. Signal words: before, after, already, by the time.
What is the past participle of swim?+
The past participle of swim is swum. You use it after have, has and had. It is different from the Past Simple. Learn the three forms together: swim, swam, swum.
What is the difference between had swum and have swum?+
Have swum (Present Perfect) connects the past to now. Had swum (Past Perfect) connects an earlier past to a later past. Compare: I have finished my homework (so I can play now) and I had finished my homework before dinner.
How do you make the negative and the question of swim in the Past Perfect?+
Negative: I hadn't swum (had not). Question: put had before the subject: Had you swum…? The past participle does not change.
Related pages: swim Past Perfect
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/swim/past-perfect
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.
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More forms of the verb to swim are coming soon.