Here are 10 significant differences between Send and Sent with clear examples.
People occasionally misuse these two terms, ‘send’ and ‘sent.’ The role of verbs in a sentence is to express or convey action or the state of being. They are the major building blocks of a sentence or phrase. The role of verbs is to tell a story about what is taking place and are often modified to evoke the tense, voice, mood, aspect, as well as an agreement with the gender, person, and the number of the subject.
When a verb is used, the tense points to the moment in which the action takes place; this determines if this action has been done in the past, is presently carried out, or will be carried out later. The English Language has three basic tenses, the present, past, and future tenses, with each having its perfect form, a progressive form, and a perfect progressive form.
Now we will illustrate the major differences between the two verbs, send and sent.
Difference between “Send” and “Sent”
Send
Send is defined as “cause to go or be taken to a particular destination.” Other words that are grammatically correct and can be used interchangeably with send include direct, remit, mail, transmit, dispatch, transport, yield, deliver, convey, or Forward.
This word is often used in the world of sport. When we look at the word from an Etymological point of view, we will discover the word has a Proto-Germanic origin with the original word being “sandijanan” directly interpreting to “go” or “journey.” From this meaning, it was absorbed into Old English using the word “sendan” frequently regarded as“send, throw,” or “send forth.”
“Sending” is the continuous tense and future continuous tense form of the word ‘send,’ which indicates that the action taken is in progress, and the future continuous tense implies that the action is actually in progress at the moment and is still to take place in the future.
Example: Listed below are sample usage of the verb “Send.”
- Please send my brother the parcel.
- I send him a snack every day.
- Send my warm wishes to your mum and sisters.
- I will send you a doll.
- What phone should I send?
- Will you send me a laptop?
- Bright always sends me a text.
- Please send me a striped tie.
- Can I send you a clip?
- I will send you a car.
Sent
The past tense of the word “send” is “Sent.” It’s used to represent the past simple tense, the past participle tense as well as both its past progressive tense and its past perfect progressive tense. The word “Sent” simply means that the action in question has been carried out. This word can be used when you have started or ended a particular action. When you want to refer to an action that has not been carried out, simply use the word “send.”
Example: Listed below are sample usage of the verb “Sent.” The examples listed here are the past tense expression of the previous examples for the verb “send.”
- I have sent your brother the parcel.
- His snack has been sent.
- I sent my wishes to your mum and sisters.
- I had sent you a doll.
- Where is the phone I sent you?
- Who bought the laptop you sent?
- John sent you a text throughout the month.
- Did you send me a striped tie?
- Where is the clip she sent?
- I sent her the car as promised.
Notable Distinctions between ‘Send’ and ‘Sent’
Here are notable breakdowns from the differences between the verb “send” and “sent.”
- The word ‘send’ implies ‘to cause to go or to be taken somewhere’ while the word ‘sent’ is a conjugation of the verb ‘send.’
- ‘Send’ is generally interpreted by many as an instruction to transfer something or someone. While the verb ‘Sent’ implies that the object has been forwarded and guessed to have arrived.
- ‘Send’ is the present perfect tense of the verb “Send,” while the word ‘sent’ can be doubled as the past tense and past participle tense of the verb.
- Both verbs ‘Send’ and ‘Sent’ have progressive forms. Although, these two words have their frequent usage, ‘send’ is often used in its present form and the word ‘sent’ in its past form.
- Occasionally, ‘Send’ is used as a command or as an infinitive, while ‘Sent’ cannot be used as a command.
- ‘Sent’ can represent an adjective and as part of the passive voice while the contrary is the case of ‘Send.’
- ‘Send’ is simply the present tense of the verb while ‘Sent’ can double as the past tense and past progressive tense.
- You can use ‘Send’ before you complete or begin the action while ‘Sent’ is suitable for actions you’ve started or concluded.
- Both verbs, send and sent represent different tenses of a single verb, the verb “send.”
- “Send” falls under the category of irregular verbs; that is why instead of adding “ed” to form past tense, it changes its spelling to form the word “sent” while forming the past tense.
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