Understanding the Difference between “Choose” and “Chose”

“Choose” and “chose” have similar spellings and meanings, which make it tricky to tell them apart. “Choose” and “chose” are different forms of the same verb—“choose” is the present tense version and “chose” is the past tense version. The verb “choose” is irregular, meaning it doesn’t follow the same rules as most verbs in the English language. This verb irregularity is why many writers often struggle when to use “choose” versus “chose.”

“Choose” vs. “chose”: What’s the difference?

As mentioned above, “choose” and “chose” are two versions of the same verb—“choose” is present tense” and “chose” is past tense. The verb “choose” means to pick out or select something from multiple options. “Chose” is the past tense of “choose,” which means that it has the same meaning, but it indicates that the action occurred in the past rather than the present.

The key to knowing when to write the word “choose” rather than “chose” is understanding the tense in which you’re writing. Is the action occurring now? Then select “choose.” Has the action already occurred? Then select “chose.”

Why don’t we use the word “choosed”?

Most regular verbs in English become their past tense selves with the application of the ending -ed or -d to the present tense version of the verb. For example, the past tense form of the present tense verb “talk” is “talked,” and the past tense form of the present tense verb “watch” is “watched.”

By this logic, it would make sense that the past tense version of “choose” would be “choosed.” However, remember that we mentioned “choose” was an irregular verb? The past tense formation of “choose” as “chose” is one of the ways in which its irregularity appears.

There are a couple other forms of “choose” to be aware of when reading and writing “choosing” and “chosen.” “Choosing” is the continuous tense of the verb and “chosen” is the past participle of the verb. Luckily, “choosing” and “chosen” are used in very different contexts from “choose” or “chose,” such as, “She is choosing her classes today” and “They have chosen the winning ice cream flavor.” These two additional forms are unlikely to get tangled up in your selection of “choose” versus “chose.”

Examples of “choose” vs. “chose”

Sometimes the easiest way to learn a grammar rule is by looking at examples of its application. We provided a few examples of when to use “choose” vs. “chose” below to help you understand the difference.

Examples of when to use “choose”
When writing about an action in the present tense, use the word “choose” or “chooses”, which is the version of “choose” that agrees with a third person subject:

• You need to choose a lipstick to wear.
• She chooses the blue car.
• I hope they choose me as a candidate
• We need to choose a vacation destination.

“Choose” can also be used to describe the future. Use “choose” after an auxiliary verb like “go” or “will” to form the future tense:

• He will choose a college major next year.
• I’m going to choose what to order after seeing the menu

Examples of when to use “chose”
When writing about an action in the simple past tense, use the word “chose”:

• We chose to go to Thailand on vacation.
• She chose to study physics last semester.
• I chose to skip my date because I wasn’t feeling well.
• They chose the winner of the contest.

To get familiar with using “choose” versus “chose” in your own writing, try writing a few examples yourself. With a little practice, you’ll be an expert on “choose” versus “chose” in no time.