sweep – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of sweep

Nominal Forms

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

Cognates

See the 3 cognates of sweep

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Subjunctive

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperfect

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

Pluperfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperative

yousweep sth away
weLet's sweep sth away
yousweep sth away

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

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)