Tenses are an important part of English grammar. They play an important role in describing the reference of time with respect to the moment of speaking. The tense denotes when the action has taken place.
The word “Throw” can be used as a verb and a noun. The meaning of the verb “Throw” is to propel anything into air with an exerted force generally with the help of hands and arms. The meaning of the noun form is used to describe the act of throwing something. It is also used in several colloquial forms such as to describe the furniture cover, etc.
Threw vs Thrown
The words “Threw” and “Thrown” are the Past tense and Past Participle of the word “Throw”. The difference between the words “Threw” and “Thrown” is the tense form, pronunciation and usage in sentence.
Comparison Table Between Threw and Thrown (in Tabular Form)
| Parameter of Comparison | Threw | Thrown |
|---|---|---|
| Number of letters | There are five letters in the word “Threw” | The word “Thrown” consists of six letters |
| Grammar Form | It is used in the sentence as a past tense | It is used in the sentence as past participle |
| Pronunciation | It is pronounced with /ew/ sound at the end | It is pronounced with /ow/ sound at the end |
| Rules of use | It can be used alone in a sentence as a past tense verb | It cannot be used alone in the sentence and is used along with an auxiliary verb |
| Example | “John threw the ball on the floor” | “The ball was thrown into the dustbin” |
When to Use Threw?
“Threw” is a five letter word which means to propel and push something into the air with the help of hands and arms in a symmetric motion. It is the past tense of the word “Throw”.
Often people get confused between the words “Threw” and “Through”, which is pronounced in a similar rhythm, but it is an entirely different word. One has to be careful while using both these words in the same sentence as the meaning of both the words are different.
The word “Threw” can be used as a stand-alone verb in a sentence and the following examples shall be considered to understand the application and usage of the word “Threw”.
- “He threw the pen and went inside”.
- “The strong wind threw her off and she lost her balance”.
- “The toddler threw tantrums in the shop as his mother denied him chocolates”.
- “The students threw their hats in the air and jumped in joy on their convocation”.
- “The dog wagged its tail in happiness when we threw some biscuits on the road”.
There are also a variety of contexts where the word “Threw” can be used. For instance, the following examples of using “Threw” in a different context can be understood as follows.
- “The food got spoilt and she threw up after eating it”. Here “Threw up” refers to vomiting the food.
- “She threw over her first child as it was a girl”. Here “Threw over” refers to abandoning of the child.
- “They threw him out of the college for his unlawful activities”. Here “Threw” refers to expelling him out of the college.
When to Use Thrown?
“Thrown” is a six letter word which refers to the act of throwing something. It is the past participle of the word “Throw”. There are certain ways in which this word can be used in English Grammar.
The word “Thrown” is used along with an auxiliary verb such as Have, Has or Had to make past perfect tense. The past participle is also used to modify or change the nouns and pronouns.
In some instances, people may get confused between the words “Thrown” and “Throne” as they both have a similar pronunciation and rhythm, but they both have contrast meanings and are not related with each other.
The following examples shall be considered to understand the application and usage of the word “Thrown”.
- “Several people were thrown out of the bus in a major accident”.
- “The contest has been thrown open to all the shoppers in the mall”.
- “Her father’s untimely death has thrown her family into a total despair”.
- “The thief was caught red-handed and was immediately thrown into the prison”.
- “She was thrown aback by the surprise of seeing her brother return from abroad”.
Main Differences Between Threw and Thrown
- Both the words “Threw” and “Thrown” have similar meaning in English language but differs in their usage in a sentence. The main difference between the words “Threw” and “Thrown” is the tense form and the context in which it is used.
- The word “Threw” can be used alone as a verb in a sentence whereas the word “Thrown” cannot be used alone and needs an auxiliary verb.
- The pronunciation of “Threw” has /ew/ sound at the end and is different from “Thrown” where /ow/ sound in used at the end.
- The word “threw” has five letters whereas the word “Thrown” has six letters.
- The word “Threw” is a past tense verb but the word “Thrown” is a verb and not a tense by itself
Conclusion
There is a vast difference between the words “Threw” and “Thrown” in English language. They both represent an action which had happened in the past. So, they both come under past tense category however “Thrown” is further classified and comes in the past participle category. Both the words have different pronunciation and spelling. Both the words are derived from the main word “Throw”.
References
- https://sentencedict.com/threw.html
- https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/throw