Grammar choices
Dived vs. Dove
Dived and dove are both correct past tenses of dive in American English; dove is very common, especially in speech, while British English prefers dived. After has or have, dived is the usual choice.
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dived | verb | past tense and past participle of dive, standard in every variety of English |
| dove | verb | past tense of dive, common and accepted in American and Canadian English |
| noun | a small bird related to the pigeon, pronounced to rhyme with love |
Dived
verb: past tense and past participle of dive, standard in every variety of English
- The swimmers dived into the cold lake at sunrise.
- Stock prices have dived since the news broke.
Dove
verb: past tense of dive, common and accepted in American and Canadian English
- Sam dove off the dock to grab the floating hat.
- The goalie dove to the left and stopped the shot.
noun: a small bird related to the pigeon, pronounced to rhyme with love
- A pair of doves nested above our porch light.
- We heard a dove cooing in the tree outside the window.
How to remember the difference
The verb dove rhymes with drove, and both are past tenses: drive, drove; dive, dove. The bird dove rhymes with love.
Good to know
Some older guides called dove informal, but it is now standard in North America. In formal British writing, use dived. For the perfect tenses, has dived is the usual form, though has dove is also heard in American speech.
Spot the mistake
The team has
dovedived into the new project with energy.Correct: The team has dived into the new project with energy.
Check yourself
Pick the word that fits each sentence.
1. The pelican has for fish three times this morning.
Answer: dived. After has, the usual past participle in careful writing is dived.
2. A white landed on the fence and began to coo.
Answer: dove. This is the bird, a noun, and the bird is always spelled dove.