sweep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of sweep

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to sweep away sb
Participle: swept away sb
Gerund: sweeping away sb

Cognates

See the 3 cognates of sweep

Indicative

Present

Isweep away sb
yousweep away sb
he;she;itsweeps away sb
wesweep away sb
yousweep away sb
theysweep away sb

Perfect

Ihave swept away sb
youhave swept away sb
he;she;ithas swept away sb
wehave swept away sb
youhave swept away sb
theyhave swept away sb

Past

Iswept away sb
youswept away sb
he;she;itswept away sb
weswept away sb
youswept away sb
theyswept away sb

Pluperfect

Ihad swept away sb
youhad swept away sb
he;she;ithad swept away sb
wehad swept away sb
youhad swept away sb
theyhad swept away sb

Future

Iwill sweep away sb
youwill sweep away sb
he;she;itwill sweep away sb
wewill sweep away sb
youwill sweep away sb
theywill sweep away sb

Future Perfect

Iwill have swept away sb
youwill have swept away sb
he;she;itwill have swept away sb
wewill have swept away sb
youwill have swept away sb
theywill have swept away sb

Subjunctive

Present

Isweep away sb
yousweep away sb
he;she;itsweep away sb
wesweep away sb
yousweep away sb
theysweep away sb

Perfect

Ihave swept away sb
youhave swept away sb
he;she;ithave swept away sb
wehave swept away sb
youhave swept away sb
theyhave swept away sb

Imperfect

Iswept away sb
youswept away sb
he;she;itswept away sb
weswept away sb
youswept away sb
theyswept away sb

Pluperfect

Ihad swept away sb
youhad swept away sb
he;she;ithad swept away sb
wehad swept away sb
youhad swept away sb
theyhad swept away sb

Conditional

Present

Iwould sweep away sb
youwould sweep away sb
he;she;itwould sweep away sb
wewould sweep away sb
youwould sweep away sb
theywould sweep away sb

Perfect

Iwould have swept away sb
youwould have swept away sb
he;she;itwould have swept away sb
wewould have swept away sb
youwould have swept away sb
theywould have swept away sb

Imperative

yousweep away sb
weLet's sweep away sb
yousweep away sb

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam sweeping away sb
youare sweeping away sb
he;she;itis sweeping away sb
weare sweeping away sb
youare sweeping away sb
theyare sweeping away sb

Perfect

Ihave been sweeping away sb
youhave been sweeping away sb
he;she;ithas been sweeping away sb
wehave been sweeping away sb
youhave been sweeping away sb
theyhave been sweeping away sb

Past

Iwas sweeping away sb
youwere sweeping away sb
he;she;itwas sweeping away sb
wewere sweeping away sb
youwere sweeping away sb
theywere sweeping away sb

Pluperfect

Ihad been sweeping away sb
youhad been sweeping away sb
he;she;ithad been sweeping away sb
wehad been sweeping away sb
youhad been sweeping away sb
theyhad been sweeping away sb

Future

Iwill be sweeping away sb
youwill be sweeping away sb
he;she;itwill be sweeping away sb
wewill be sweeping away sb
youwill be sweeping away sb
theywill be sweeping away sb

Future Perfect

Iwill have been sweeping away sb
youwill have been sweeping away sb
he;she;itwill have been sweeping away sb
wewill have been sweeping away sb
youwill have been sweeping away sb
theywill have been sweeping away sb

Conditional

Present

Iwould be sweeping away sb
youwould be sweeping away sb
he;she;itwould be sweeping away sb
wewould be sweeping away sb
youwould be sweeping away sb
theywould be sweeping away sb

Perfect

Iwould have been sweeping away sb
youwould have been sweeping away sb
he;she;itwould have been sweeping away sb
wewould have been sweeping away sb
youwould have been sweeping away sb
theywould have been sweeping away sb

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'sweep'

creep, feel, keep, lose, oversleep, sleep, sweep, weep, becreep, besleep, book-keep, bookkeep, cosleep, downsweep, foreweep, forsleep, gatekeep, housekeep, increep, kape, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'sweep'

seep, sleep, steep, sweet, tweep, weep, beep, beweep, bleep, cheep,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

brush
whisk, clean, dust

Additional Information

Cf. Old English crēopan (creep), hlēapan (leap), slǣpan (sleep), swāpan (sweep) and wēpan (weep).

Etymology

1. c.1300, perhaps from a past tense form of M.E. swope "sweep," from O.E. swapan "to sweep" (transitive & intransitive); see swoop. The noun meaning "range, extent" is attested from 1679; in ref. to police or military actions, it is attested from 1837. Sense of "a winning of all the tricks in a card game" is from 1814 (see sweepstakes); extended to other sports by 1960. As a shortened form of chimney-sweeper, first attested 1812.
2. From Middle English swepen, from Proto-West Germanic *swaipijan (unattested in Old English), from Proto-Germanic *swaipijaną. Cognate with Early Modern West Frisian swiepe (“whip, cleanse, sweep”), from Old Frisian swēpa, suepa (“sweep”). More distantly related to Old Norse sveipa (whence Swedish svepa). See also swoop. See: Middle English 'swepen', Proto-Germanic '*swaipijaną', Swedish 'svepa'.

Verbs referencing "sweep"

Proto-Slavic šibati, Sanskrit क्षिपति, Hindi खेना, Irish síob.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] waters. Owing to the peculiar form of the shore on the Kentucky side, the land bending far out into the water, the ice had been lodged and detained in great quantities, and the narrow channel which swept round the bend was full of ice, piled one cake over another, thus forming a temporary barrier to the descending ice, which lodged, and formed a great, undulating raft, filling up the whole river, [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • The boat swept proudly away from the shore, and all went on merrily, as before. Men talked, and loafed, and read, and smoked. Women sewed, and children played, and the boat passed on her way. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] But they were not many; and the rest were as they always had been. He dwelt on this: and said several times that unless they tried to assimilate themselves to their conquerors, they must be swept away before the strides of civilised society. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] The Monks ’ Mound; in memory of a body of fanatics of the order of La Trappe, who founded a desolate convent there, many years ago, when there were no settlers within a thousand miles, and were all swept off by the pernicious climate: in which lamentable fatality, few rational people will suppose, perhaps, that society experienced any very severe deprivation. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] river with this object, are far from being uncommon. Several men were drowned in the attempt to swim across, not long ago; and one, who had the madness to trust himself upon a table as a raft, was swept down to the whirlpool, where his mangled body eddied round and round some days. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] crowded on, dashed gaily past, and left her far behind. Towards evening, the weather turned hazy, with a drizzling rain; and soon became so thick, that we sailed, as it were, in a cloud. Still we swept onward like a phantom ship, and many an eager eye glanced up to where the Look-out on the mast kept watch for Holyhead. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] confine her sphere of operation and instruction chiefly to her own chamber. With a self-sacrifice which some of our readers will appreciate, she resolved, instead of comfortably making her own bed, sweeping and dusting her own chamber,—which she had hitherto done, in utter scorn of all offers of help from the chambermaid of the establishment,—to condemn herself to the martyrdom of instructing Topsy to [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] learned to do the proprieties of Miss Ophelia's chamber in a way with which even that particular lady could find no fault. Mortal hands could not lay spread smoother, adjust pillows more accurately, sweep and dust and arrange more perfectly, than Topsy, when she chose,—but she didn't very often choose. If Miss Ophelia, after three or four days of careful patient supervision, was so sanguine as to [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Eva and Tom hastened in. Miss Ophelia was old, and skilled in the tactics of nursing. She was from New England, and knew well the first guileful footsteps of that soft, insidious disease, which sweeps away so many of the fairest and loveliest, and, before one fibre of life seems broken, seals them irrevocably for death. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • But the boat swept on. Hours fleeted, and, at last, clear and full rose the blessed English shores; shores charmed by a mighty spell,—with one touch to dissolve every incantation of slavery, no matter in what language [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • ♪ Ruler of the sapphire ocean His time is right for celebration ♪ ♪ He sweeps the world like a tempest His army triumphs without rest ♪ (Magudam)