Took 还是 taken:take 的过去式,以及怎么听出这两种形式

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你正在听写一段办公室对话。说话的人抛出一句话,你听写成 "She's taking the day off",然后红色波浪线标在第三个词上。原句是 "She's taken the day off",两句话说的是两回事:一句是她已经请假了,另一句是她打算请假。先简短回答:take 的过去式是 took,take 的过去分词是 taken。V-ing 形式是 taking,第三人称单数是 takes。
这是简单部分,也是每个页面都有的部分。难点在两个地方。第一,take 在短语数量和义项数量上首屈一指,选对形式才完成一半,另一半是选对 take 而不是 bring、get 或 spend。第二,在真实口语里 took 和 taken 都会被压缩:took 会丢掉词尾辅音,taken 缩成两个音节,后一个音节几乎没有元音。
本文完整走一遍:take 及其同类动词的形式表、何时用 took 何时用 taken、take 与 bring 的短语(越南语里统称「带」),以及对练听力的人来说最重要的是这两种过去时在正常语速下听起来什么样。
take 及其同类动词的形式表
五种形式,汇总在一张表里。音标注美式发音,英式发音差异明显处括号标注。
| 形式 | 词 | 音标 | 简短例句 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 原形 (V1) | take | /teɪk/ | I take the bus. |
| 第三人称单数 | takes | /teɪks/ | She takes notes. |
| 过去式 (V2) | took | /tʊk/ | I took the early train. |
| 过去分词 (V3) | taken | /ˈteɪkən/ | He has taken my seat. |
| 现在分词 | taking | /ˈteɪkɪŋ/ | We are taking a break. |
Unlike go,take 并不孤立。它属于一条很紧密的系列:shake 配 shook 和 shaken,mistake 配 mistook 和 mistaken,forsake 配 forsook 和 forsaken。四个动词,同一套模式,原形尾 -ake,过去式 -ook,分词 -aken。记住 take,另外三个动词差不多白送。
分词尾的 -en 则属于一个更大的家族:eat 配 eaten,give 配 given,write 配 written,break 配 broken,drive 配 driven,choose 配 chosen,fall 配 fallen。这个尾缀是英语里一种很古老的分词标记方式的遗留,至今仍活在大约几十个常用动词里。在不规则动词里看到以 -en 结尾的词,几乎可以肯定它是 V3 列,不是 V2 列。
真正要注意的是 took 的元音。它是 /ʊ/,短元音,和 book、look、cook、foot 同一类。越南人常把它拖长成 /uː/,听起来像 "tuke"。这个词不存在,听者只能猜,语速快的句子里他们常会猜成 take。这是发音错误,但会在听力环节反过来咬你,因为你脑中错误的读音模式正是你听力识别时用的模式。
几个相近的不规则动词值得放在一起看。eat 的过去式分词也是 -en 尾,ate 和 eaten 这一对和 took、taken 一样常被混用。break 的过去式走 broke 和 broken 这套模式,和 take 相似之处在于分词比过去式多一个音节。bring 的过去式值得读则是完全不同的原因:bring 和 take 是移动方向的一对反义词,那是越南人错得最多的地方。如果你要从头重建语法基础,英语语法这篇文章给你一张时态地图,看清 took 和 taken 落在哪。
何时用 took,何时用 taken
最简原则:took 可以单独用,taken 绝不能单独用。took 是过去式,自己当句子的主要动词。taken 是分词,前面必须有 have、has、had,被动句里前面是 be。
| 句子 | 对错 | 原因 |
|---|---|---|
| I took the early bus this morning. | 对 | 过去式,有时间锚点 this morning |
| I have took the early bus this morning. | 错 | have 后面必须是分词 taken |
| Someone has taken my umbrella. | 对 | taken 跟在 has 后面 |
| Someone taken my umbrella. | 错 | taken 前面缺少助动词 |
| The photo was taken from the roof. | 对 | 被动,be 加分词 |
| Did you took your passport? | 错 | did 后面用原形 take,did 已带过去义 |
选对形式才完成一半。另一半是选对动词,因为越南语把 take 的很多意思都归进「带」「拿」「花」「喝」这些熟字。下面七行是学习者偏得最多的地方,七句都是你在工作里会写到的句子。
| 句子 | 为什么是 take 而不是别的词 |
|---|---|
| It took me two hours to finish. | 主语是事情,不是人,这是说耗时的标准结构 |
| I spent two hours on the report. | 主语是人时动词换成 spend,不用 take |
| She took her medicine after lunch. | 英语里「吃药」是 take,drink medicine 听着很怪 |
| He took a shower and left. | 美式用 take a shower,英式常用 have a shower |
| I took a photo of the whiteboard. | 拍照是 take a photo,不是 make a photo |
| Take this file to Nam. | take 是从说话人所在处带走 |
| Bring this file to me. | bring 是带到说话人这里,越南语用一个「带」字 |
最后两行是最值得记牢的一对。移动方向从说话人所在位置算起,不是从物品所在处。同一个动作,你在办公室就说 "She brought her laptop to the office",你在家里复述就说 "She took her laptop to the office"。两句都没错,只是说话人站在两个不同位置。
什么时候选 took 而不是 have taken?句子有一个已经封闭的时间锚点:yesterday、last week、in 2019、an hour ago。有锚点就用 took。没有锚点,而且你说的是延续到当下的结果,比如有人占走了你的座位,那个位置现在还被占着,就用 has taken。
在真实口语里听 took 和 taken
这部分你在动词变位表里找不到,也是决定你能不能听出 took 的关键。纸面上 took 是四个很清楚的字母。正常语速的句子里,它的词尾辅音要么消失,要么整颗跳到下一个词上。
took 后面跟辅音,词尾 /k/ 直接没了。 "took two days" 里两个 /t/ 合成一个,整句听起来接近 "too-tu days"。 "took care of it" 里你听到 "too-care-ovit"。 "took part" 里你听到 "too-part"。如果你在等一个清晰的 /k/ 爆破来确认这是 took,那个爆破不会出现。
took 后面跟元音,/k/ 跳到下一个词开头。 "took off" 变成 "tuh-KOFF",一个两音节块,词界和书写位置错位。 "took it" 变成 "too-kit"。 "It took an hour" 变成 "it-too-kə-nour"。这就是为什么很多人把 "The flight took off late" 听写成完全不同的词串:他们听到的音对,切分位置错了。
took 的元音比你以为的短,它是把 took 和 take 分开的唯一线索。 took 有 /ʊ/,像 book 里那样。take 有 /eɪ/,双元音,长得多。句子跑快、词尾辅音已经飞走之后,剩下的就是元音。耳朵还不熟时,两个词会糊在一起,时态信息也就丢了。
taken 结尾是一个几乎不带元音的 n 音。 它是 "tei-kn",不是 "tei-ken"。第二个音节轻到在快速语流里你只听结尾有一声很短的鼻音。漏掉那部分就会听写成 "take",句子语法错了,但你的耳朵听上去完全合理。
taken 和 taking 只差一个非重读元音。 taken 是 "teikn",taking 在口语里把 -ing 缩成 -in,变成 "teikin"。两串音非常接近。真正的线索不在动词本身,而在前面的助动词 has 或 is,而那恰恰是句子里被缩得最狠的部分。
taken 前面的 have 和 has 几乎隐形。 "They have taken it" 在真实口语里是 "they've taken it",缩略后只在主语末尾剩一个 /v/ 粘着。"It has been taken" 变成 "its-bin-teikn"。漏掉那部分就会听写成 "they taken it",标准英语里不存在这种句子。
下面六句取自你每天会遇到的对话类型。中间一列记录它们听起来的样子,右边一列记录常见的错误听写,中间一列按耳朵听写,不用 IPA。
| 原句 | 听成 | 学习者常听写成 |
|---|---|---|
| The flight took off an hour late. | the flait tuh-koff ən-our leit | The flight to cough an hour late. |
| It took about ten minutes. | it too-kə-bout ten minits | It take about ten minutes. |
| She's taken the day off. | shiz teikn the dei off | She's taking the day off. |
| Someone has taken my seat. | sʌmwʌn əz teikn mai seat | Someone has take my seat. |
| We took a look at the numbers. | wi tʊ-kə-lʊk ət the nʌmbərz | We took a lock at the numbers. |
| He took two days off last week. | hi too-tu deiz off | He to two days off last week. |
第三列的错误可归成三类。第一行和第六行是切词边界切错:took 末尾的 /k/ 跳到下一个词,你听到的音串没错,但拆成了别的词。第二行和第四行是吞尾辅音:took 丢了 /k/ 听上去像 take,taken 丢了鼻音听上去像 take。第三行是功能词错误:has 缩成一个 /z/,你不知道是完成时还是进行时。

在 WELE 练一次,这件事就变成具体操作。你听一句,按耳朵听写,然后批改标出错的词。标红的是 took 而你听写成 take,你会得到读动词变位表永远给不了的信息:你的耳朵抓住了辅音框架,但漏掉了中间那个短元音。再听同一句,这次你知道该盯哪里了。
顿悟来自改错,不来自读表。读完开头五行表,十分钟后你仍知道 took 是 take 的过去式,但你的耳朵一点没变。听错一句再重听自己错的地方,下次再遇到,你的耳朵已经有一个锚点,那个锚点是某个具体元音,不是表里的一行。所以语法页的最后一步应该是耳朵,不是眼睛。
想搞懂尾辅音为什么会跳位而不是你听力差,connected speech 一文讲整句的连读和吞音,不只针对 took。想立刻在真句上试,podcast 库有 transcript 可以逐行对照。
常见含 took 和 taken 的短语
take 是产出最多层级短语的动词,真实对话里你遇到这些短语比单独遇到 take 多得多。下面十三行是职场英语里出现最密的短语,写成过去式或分词形式,让你直接认脸。
| 短语 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| take off | 起飞,或脱掉,或请一天假 | The plane took off twenty minutes late. |
| take on | 接更多活,或再招人 | We took on two new interns last quarter. |
| take over | 接手,代管 | She has taken over the account since March. |
| take up | 开始一个习惯,或占地方 | He took up running after the move. |
| take out | 取出,或买外带 | I took out the old battery first. |
| take back | 收回说过的话,或退货 | He took back what he said in the meeting. |
| take down | 拆下来,或记下来 | She took down the number as he read it. |
| take in | 吸收,或完全理解 | I could not take in the whole slide at once. |
| take after | 像家里某个人 | He takes after his mother in that. |
| take apart | 拆开 | They took the machine apart on Friday. |
| take place | 发生 | The workshop took place in the small room. |
| take part in | 参与 | Nam took part in the pilot programme. |
| take care of | 打理,照顾 | She has taken care of the invoices already. |
take over 和 take care of 两行有个细节值得注意。同一个短语,换形式就换时间感。"She took over the account in March" 把事钉在一个已闭合的时间点,像在回顾。"She has taken over the account" 说的是现在的状态:她正在负责,你该给她发邮件,不是发给前任。
take off 还有一层,因为它有三个很不一样的意思。"The plane took off" 是起飞。"He took off his jacket" 是脱掉。"She took Friday off" 是请一天假。听的时候,三个都是同一串音,区分完全靠旁边的名词,不在动词上。
越南人常犯的 take 错误
taked 和 tooked。 这是见动词就加 -ed 的反射。take 从不按规则变位,took 也不需要再加任何东西。只有 took,没有 taked,没有 tooked,没有 takened。
Did you took. did 已经扛了过去时,后面动词回到原形。"Did you take your passport?" 才对。它常在你刚背熟 take 的过去式是 took、非用不可时冒出来。
I have took,以及 taken 单独站着。 两个错误是同一回事的两面。"I have took a photo" 错,因为 have 后面必须是 taken。"Someone taken my seat" 错,因为 taken 不能单独当谓语动词。某些地区母语者你会听到第一种,但听到不等于能用:考试和工作邮件里算错。
该用 bring 却用 take。 越南语只有一个"带"字,英语按相对说话人的方向分。跟同事说 "Take the report to me" 方向反了,该是 "Bring the report to me"。反过来,你在家里叫孩子把书包带到学校,用 take 才对。快速检查:目的地是不是你站的地方,是就用 bring,不是就用 take。
用 drink medicine 代替 take medicine。 越南语说"喝药",手就自动写出 drink。英语所有药都用 take,包括液体:"I took my medicine","She has taken two tablets"。同组还有 take a test、take a break、take a photo、take a seat,这些地方从越南语直译会变成另一个动词。
说时长时主语颠倒。 "I took two hours to finish the report" 母语者听着很怪。两种正确结构,主语不同:"It took me two hours to finish the report" 或 "I spent two hours on the report"。用 take 主语是 it,用 spend 主语是人。
快速练习
八句话,填 take、took、taken 或 taking。整篇做完再打开文末答案。
- Yesterday she ______ the early bus to work.
- Someone has ______ my umbrella from the rack.
- Did you ______ your passport with you this morning?
- It ______ us three hours to finish the report last night.
- The workshop ______ place in the small room on Friday.
- He has ______ over the project since March.
- I am ______ a short break at the moment.
- The photo was ______ from the roof of the building.
答案:1. took. 2. taken. 3. take. 4. took. 5. took. 6. taken. 7. taking. 8. taken.
第 3 题和第 8 题值得停一下。第 3 题前面有 did,动词要用原形——这是很多人填 took 的地方,因为脑子里在想过去时。第 8 题是被动语态,前面有 was,空格处应是分词 taken;很多人填 took,因为手顺了简单过去时。这两题如果错了,上面那道对错表值得再读一遍。
常见问题
take 的过去式是什么?
take 的简单过去式是 took,过去分词是 taken。这两种形式不能互换:took 作简单过去时的主动动词,taken 则始终跟在 have、has、had 后面,或在被动句中跟在 be 后面。
took 还是 taken,用哪个?
你看动词前面有没有助动词。有 have、has、had、was、were 就用 taken。前面什么都没有就用 took。"I took it" 对,"I have taken it" 对,"I have took it" 错,"I taken it" 错。
take 和 bring 差在哪儿?
差在相对于说话人的移动方向。bring 是带到说话人所在的地方,take 是从说话人所在的地方带走。同一动作可以叫 bring 也可以叫 take,取决于叙述者站在哪儿,所以要先确定位置再选动词。
It took me 还是 I took,哪个写法对?
说一件事花了多长时间,标准结构是 "It took me two hours to finish"。如果想让做事的人作主语,就彻底换动词:"I spent two hours on it"。"I took two hours to finish" 虽然存在,但听着很怪,母语者很少这么说。
taked 是 take 的一种形式吗?
不是。take 是不规则动词,任何形态都不能加 -ed 结尾。要记住的三种形式是 take、took、taken,跟 shake、shook、shaken 同一套。
在快速口语里听 took 和 taken,多久能听熟?
规则部分,好好读一遍,一个下午够了。耳朵那部分取决于你现有的听力基础;最真实的测法就是听写几段,对照自己卡住的地方。现在做一遍 听力水平测试,几周后就有参照可以对比。
take 变形表花你半分钟就能拿走,这是本页最轻的部分。剩下的——took 末尾辅音消失、taken 只跟 taking 差一个模糊元音——只有在你听漏了、看到听写错的地方,才会真正进耳朵。打开一集短剧,听写一段有 took 或 taken 的,再回头读文首的表,感觉会不会不一样。