Ring vs. Rang vs. Rung
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Ring vs. Rang vs. Rung
In verb conjugation, a regular verb follows a simple, predictable pattern, such as print (present tense), printed (simple past), and printed (past particle): I print, you printed, and they have printed.
An irregular verb is one that forms its simple past tense and past participle with a non-standard pattern. Ring is one such verb.
Ring conjugates as ring (present tense), rang (simple past), and rung (past participle).
Present Tense: Ring
Like standard verbs, ring has no change of form or vowel in the present tense.
Examples
I always ring the bell after I knock.
He rings twice before entering.
They ring their bike bells when they approach the park.
Simple Past Tense: Rang
The simple past tense of ring changes the central vowel to an a.
Examples
I rang the bell after I knocked.
He rang twice before entering.
They rang their bike bells when they approached the park.
Past Participle: Rung
The past participle of ring changes the central vowel to u. The past participle also includes the auxiliary verb have, has, or had depending on whether it is in the present, past, future, or conditional perfect.
Present Perfect
I have rung the bell.
She has rung the bell.
Past Perfect
I had rung the bell.
She had rung the bell.
Future Perfect
If they don’t answer the door soon, I will have rung the bell twice since this morning.
If they don’t answer the door soon, she will have rung the bell twice since this morning.
Conditional Perfect
I would have rung the bell sooner if I had known they were leaving today.
She would have rung the bell sooner if she had known they were leaving today.
Pop Quiz
1. He [rings / rangs / rungs] the bell to get the students’ attention.
2. We [ring / rang / rung] the bell, but no one answered the door.
3. She had [ringed / rang / rung] the bell three times before I was near enough to hear it.
4. By tomorrow, they will have [ringed / rang / rung] the bell ten times to get the students’ attention.
5. Were you aware that the phone [ring / rang / rung] this morning?
Pop Quiz Answers
1. He rings the bell to get the students’ attention.
2. We rang the bell, but no one answered the door.
3. She had rung the bell three times before I was near enough to hear it.
4. By tomorrow, they will have rung the bell ten times to get the students’ attention.
5. Were you aware that the phone rang this morning?
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
The telephone was ringing for several times before I answered it?
or
The telephone had rung several times before I answered it?
The simplest and best way to write the sentence is in past tense like this: The telephone rang several times…
Your second alternative is fine. Your first one, although awkward, should be as follows: The telephone was ringing several times before I answered it.
My Microsoft Word can’t even decide which form to use here….
The bell was without a rope to be rung by.
The bell was without a rope to be rang by.
The bell was without a rope to be ringed by.
I’m thinking the first option?
You are correct by using “rung.”
Would you say, in this context:
She rung her hands in anguish, or would you say ‘she rang her hands’?
Edit disagreement in editing my novel. Much appreciated,
The word you want is wrung, which is the past tense of wring.
When I reached the school, the worker ——the bell.
1.will have rung
2.had rung
3.has rung
4.was ringing
It seems to us that, depending on the context intended, either 2. or 4. could be acceptable.
If it is desired to communicate that something took place in the past before something else happened, the correct answer would be (2) had rung (past perfect tense). The bell had already rung by the time I reached the school.
If it is desired to communicate that something took place in the past while something else was happening, the correct answer would be (4) was ringing (past progressive tense). The bell was in the process of ringing when I reached the school.
I don’t think you’re supposed to end a sentence in a proposition. A better way to write it would be, “The bell had no rope with which to ring it.” or “The bell could not be rung, as it had no rope.”
We agree that Adele’s sentence could be written in a better way, however, one of the undying myths of English grammar is that you may not end a sentence with a preposition.
The following sentences are grammatically correct and they end in prepositions:
That is something I cannot agree with.
How many of you can I depend on?
This is the case I told you about.
Although those sentences are acceptable in modern use, they are not proper grammar. It is just another sign of our decay as a society. However, that is the world in which we live.
Although there might be better ways to write the sentences, they are grammatically correct.
The decay of society? That is a very dramatic statement. Do you suggest that the evolution of language is unnatural and that language and grammar are static?
I have a problem with some of the advice regarding rung/rang/ring!
In Dickens Great Expectations my wife tells me Dickens – a not bad grammatician … ! says, “The bellls had rung.” Isn’t this contrary to your advice regarding the past tense?
Thanks,
Mr. Dickens was using the past perfect form. My examples of the past perfect form are “I had rung the bell” and “She had rung the bell,” which are consistent with the sentence, “The bells had rung” by Mr. Dickens.
Not sure here…
What an eventful new year we have rung in…
What an eventful new year we have rang in…
What an eventful new year we have rung in.
What an eventful new year we rang in.
(If you are referring to the New Year holiday, then “New Year” would be capitalized.)
Isn’t that correct to use simple past after “be”? So in case of Adele, the rang should be the correct answer, please clarify? Thank you!
In this case, “be” is used as an auxiliary verb (otherwise known as a “helping” verb). Auxiliary verbs help form the tense, voice, or mood of the verb. In the example sentence, “The bell was without a rope to be rung by,” the past participle is used.
Message in answering machine
You have rang Steve –
Should that be
You have rung Steve ?
– in this context the rang is an action in process not past ??
Rang is the past form. Have rung is the past participle form. The following are grammatically correct:
You have rung Steve.
You rang Steve.
Thank you so much for clearing this up for me! I’ve wondered which one (rang/rung) and now I know. Thank you!
You are welcome!
When shopping, I noticed a sign that said, for items that scan at higher than the shelf tag, you will receive one of that item free.
“All additional like items will be rang up at the lower price”.
I felt, Ouch! And thought that should say “All additional like items will be rung up at the lower price”.
I thought how about a sentence that has all forms of “Ring” in it?
Bill was ringing the register and he was asked to ring up the toaster, and when it was rung up, it rang up at more than the shelf tag, so the customer asked Bill to re-ring the register at the price found on the shelf tag.
You are correct that the store sign should have read, “All additional like items will be rung up at the lower price.” In your sentence, you did manage to correctly use “ring,” “rang,” and “rung” although it is a run-on sentence and not grammatically correct.
Would you please provide an example of Conditional Perfect Form?
I would have rung the bell if the automated system had still been malfunctioning.
is it corect this
has the bell been rung ? or has the bell rung ? or what is the correct way of asking whether the bell rang.
Either is correct: “Has the bell been rung?” or “Has the bell rung?”
Could you also write “Did the bell ring?”
Yes.
The bell has rung and you are still wasting time!
Or
The bell has rang and you are still wasting time!
Or neither!
Either of the following would be correct:
The bell has rung and you are still wasting time!
The bell rang and you are still wasting time!
The bell is ringing the bell has rung? or The bell is ringing the bell rang?
It would be best not to mix present and past tenses in the same sentence. For present tense you would write:
The bell is ringing.
For past tense, either of the following would be correct:
The bell has rung.
The bell rang.
The bell already rang?
The bell had rung?
Either question would be grammatically correct. The first example is the past form and the second example is the past participle form.
Re: “The bell already rang.” To me, a Brit, that doesn’t work, but…
…it seems to illustrate a possible conflict between what is ‘correct’ and a form used fairly commonly in the US. If the bell has already rung, that not only means that the event has happened, but that there is an ongoing effect, e.g. it’s now too late, or we’re now in lunch time, or (as opposed to “the bell rang occasionally, or at some point in the past, or just now, but without any change of situation).
When the action changes the situation (e.g. it was too early to get our lunch, but now that the bell has rung we should join the lunch line), the ‘proper’ tense for this is the perfect tense (in one of its forms): “The bell has rung,” or “The bell has been rung,” or “Has the cook rung the bell yet?”
However, that’s from a British perspective. From here, “The bell already rang” doesn’t really make sense: if it’s already, then there’s an ongoing effect or change of situation, and it should be the perfect tense: “The bell HAS already RUNG.”
But I’ve noticed that at least some people from the US quite often use the simple past for this. Please note, I’m not suggesting anything or anyone is right or wrong! I’m just saying that usage seems to vary.
In the UK, we occasionally use the simple past to function as the perfect, but not as much, and e.g. when we’ve finished a big job we would probably say “We’ve done it,” but some of my US friends would say “We did it!” I don’t know if that’s considered right or wrong in the US, but perhaps you do.
We’re delighted to have readers in many countries, but we remind our readers that this website and The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation represent American English rules and guidelines.
The telephone was ringing for several time before I answered it?
or
The telephone had rung several times before I answered it?
Actually, neither one of them is good.
The telephone rang several times before I answered it
is the best choice.
As we responded previously, the simplest and best way to write the sentence is in past tense: “The telephone rang several times before I answered it.”
“The telephone had rung several times before I answered it,” is also grammatically correct.
“The telephone was ringing several times before I answered it,” is acceptable, but awkward.
I think you could say:-
“The telephone rang several times before I answered it.”
or
“The telephone had rung several times before I answered it.” (Or “…by the time I answered it.”)
or
“The telephone was ringing for some time before I answered it.”
or even
“The telephone rang for some time before I answered it.”
But I’m pretty sure you CAN’T say “The telephone was ringing several times…”
That’s because “was ringing” (past continuous, if I’m not mistaken) is telling us that (for a brief period) the telephone was in a continuous state of ringing. A continuous state of ringing is not countable, because it’s an ongoing state, not a series of individual actions. (That is, unless it was in such a state several times, i.e. it was ringing, then stopped, then was ringing again, then stopped again, then was ringing again, etc.)
If the telephone was ringing, that’s the single ongoing action the telephone was engaged in, not a point-time action it did several times. If you want to report that something happened several times, you need to use the simple past (“rang several times”) or the past perfect (“had rung several times”).
Depending on the type of ringtone, the ringing of a telephone can be countable. While your sentences are better options, and “The telephone was ringing several times before I answered it” is awkward, it is grammatically acceptable.
My sister always says – I rung her whereas I think she should say – I rang her. Who is correct please?
We assume your sister is referring to a phone call she made. “Rang” is the past tense: “I rang her.” “Rung” is the past participle: “I have/had rung her.”
The drinks were _________ into the register.
Would rang or rung work better? Thanks.
This is an example of “passive voice.” Voice shows whether the subject acts (active voice) or is acted on (passive voice)–that is, whether the subject performs or receives the action of the verb. The passive voice is formed with an auxiliary verb (were) plus a participle (usually the past participle) of a verb (ring). Since you have the auxiliary verb were you need the past participle form of ring, which is rung. “The drinks were rung into the register,” would be correct.
Is it I rung the customer out or I rang the customer out?
I rang the customer out.
This is similar to Angie’s question.
Let me get those drinks ____ in for you.
Thank you.
This is another case of the passive voice, so you would use the word rung.
Would it be correct to say “The bell has not rang yet.” or should it be stated “The bell has not rung yet.” ?
With the word has or have, use the past participle form rung.
The bell has not rung yet.
Every so often the following statement arrives from our building manager via email:
“The fire bells will be rang continuously on Wednesday, from 05:30 hrs. to 05:50 hrs.”
Although it doesn’t sound right to me, I’m not certain whether it’s correct or incorrect.
Thanks for your help!
The phrase “will be rang” is a mixture of future and past tenses. Better wording would be, “The fire bells will be ringing continuously on Wednesday from 5:30 pm to 5:50 pm.” (Unless this is occurring on a military base and is really being done in the morning, then it would be, “The fire bells will be ringing continuously on Wednesday from 0530 to 0550.” The inclusion of hours or hrs. is optional.)
The saying, “do unto others, as they would have done unto you,” has rang aloud on lots of occasions during my midwifery career.
Is this a correct use of the word ‘rang’?
The correct phrase is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” With the word has, you need to use the past particiiple form rung. Since you are not quoting someone directly, you do not need commas to set off the saying. The word aloud is usually used when referring to a voice. You could use the word loudly instead. The term lots of is rather informal. I recommend using the word many. Also, the word midwifery is a noun but you used it as an adjective in your sentence. It would be better to rewrite the phrase to my career as a midwife.
The saying “do unto others as you would have them do unto you ” has rung loudly on many occasions during my career as a midwife.
What about after “was”?
As in the case of the Liberty Bell:
The restored bell was rung for the first time to the public during the reading of the Declaration of
Independence.
Your sentence is correct using rung. You could also write “The restored bell rang in public for the first time during the reading of the Declaration of Independence.”
Which is the correct one ? Tq.
The bell has not ring/rang/rung for the school to begin.
With the word has or have, use the past participle form rung. Also, the word the before school is unnecessary in your sentence as written.
The bell has not rung for school to begin.
any boy late after roll call may sign in at the administration/student services area if a parent has not rung the Absentee Line.
Should I use rung or phoned?
The dictionaries accept phone as a verb.
Either phoned or called would be best. Rung is a little old-fashioned. The absentee line does not need to be capitalized.
Any boy late after roll call may sign in at the administration/student services area if a parent has not called the absentee line.
She named the items as she rang/rung them up. I want to make sure I’m editing this sentence correctly. Thanks.
She named the items as she rang them up.
The school bell rang or is it the school bell rung?
You need to use the past form rang.
The school bell rang.
thanks this helped me a lot
greetings from Argentina
We are glad you found our website helpful. Do not forget the importance of proper capitalization and punctuation in formal writing.
Is this sentence correct?
The bell is rung.
The sentence is sometimes correct: for example, if someone asks, “When do they ring the bell?” you might reply, “The bell is rung every day.” Otherwise, “The bell has rung” or “has been rung” may be better.
Please let me know if the below usage is correct?
I had plans to rung in the New Year at the beach but had to be content with ringing it in at home
If a verb follows to, it is called an infinitive, and it is not the main verb. Use the base form for the infinitive ring in your sentence, not the past tense rung.
I had plans to ring in the New Year at the beach but had to be content with ringing it in at home.
Most of your examples are for ring/rang/rung when defined as producing a sound. For example, he rang the bell.
Do the same rules apply for ring up/rang up/rung up when defined as “to total and record especially by means of a cash register” [Webster]? For example:
Did the cashier ring up my charge?
The cashier rang up my charge wrong.
The cashier would have rung up my charge if the register wasn’t broken.
What is the origin of ring up in this context? I would guess that people began using “ring up” when old time cash registers had a bell that rang each time the lever was pulled.
The same rules apply to ring up/rang up/rung up. Although etymology is not our expertise, we think you could be correct in regard to the origin of “ring up.”
What will be the improved sentence of following :-
I have been ringing the doorbell five times but no one has
—————————–
answered.
Improvement should be taken place at underlined part only…
Thanks in advance.
I have rung the doorbell five times but no one has answered.
The boy has ring/rang/rung the bell again. Which is correct
Use the past participle form rung with has.
The boy has rung the bell again.
The birds had been ringed before or the birds had been rung before
Birds are “ringed” rather than “rung.” In the United States it is commonly called “banding.”
I was reading a book recently and came across this sentence
…”they ringed the building…” and it did not sound correct, should have been “rung”.
my problem is that I am finding these types of issues more frequently in literrature lately. Is grammar changing? Am I missing something? I am sort of a grammarphobe so I am finding it difficult to read the current literature when I see these types of glaring mistakes.
We do not know the context of the sentence; however, we assume that “they ringed the building” means that a person or group of people made or put a circle or ring around the building. In that case, the sentence could be grammatically correct.
starting to day there will be no free food eveything must be ______ be for you can eatit
Your sentence contains numerous grammatical errors. We are not sure, but we think you are trying to write the following:
Starting today there will be no free food. Everything must be rung up before you can eat it.
What would it be correct if i were to say
my phone has never rung/rang in the middle of class
The past participle rung is used with has.
Which would be correct? Just rang twice or just rung twice
Thanks
For past tense, rang is correct.
I rang in the drinks. I already rang in the drinks. Are both senteces correct? Thanks
The word rang is correct.
Would it be: Yesterday, you rang the bell for lunch, or Yesterday, you rung the bell for lunch?
The past tense rang is correct. Also, it is not necessary to use a comma after the word yesterday.
The bell hast rang or rung yet. Someone help
The bell hasn’t rung yet.
Do we say I heard the school bell rang or I heard the school bell rings?
Thank you
Neither option is correct. Write “I heard the school bell ring.”
Can you explain why both the sentences “I heard the school bell rang” and “I heard the school bell rings” are wrong? But “I heard the school bell ring” is correct?
Is this sentence correct?– “I heard the school bell ringing”
Thank you.
In the sentence “I heard the school bell ring,” the word heard is the main verb. In that sentence, the word ring is an infinitive, not the main verb. The base form ring is used for the infinitive.
In the sentence “I heard the school bell ringing,” again the main verb is heard. However, the word ringing is the present participle.
In a sentence ” it doesn’t get rung up”” how do you spell rung?? Is it rung or wrung??
Rung is correct. (See our website entry Ring, Wring in Confusing Words and Homonyms.)
Is it:
Has the bell rang, yet?
or
Has the bell rung, yet?
~ Thanks!
If you turn the question around to form a statement (The bell has rung.), you will see that the past participle has rung is correct.
is it “has the bell rung?” or “has the bell rang?”
The words has and have indicate use of the past participle rung.
Has the bell rung?
[This person’s comment relates to question No. 2 of Irregular Verbs Quiz 3, one of our subscription quizzes.]
We rang the bell, but no one answered the door.
I find it awkward. It should have been:
We rang the bell, but no one opened the door.
It can be but the latter is more appropriate.
“Answer the door” is a common idiom in the English language. It means go to the door to see who is there after hearing a doorbell or a knock.
Okay, so I don’t usually ask for advice but…
“Not a second to spare either, the late for class bell rung.”
Is this sentence grammatically correct or not?
Also, whether it is or not, could it be better said?
We recommend:
With not a second to spare, the late-for-class bell rang.
a bell rang in John’s school
or
a bell rang at John’s school
or
a bell was rung at John’s school
All three sentences are grammatically correct with proper capitalization and punctuation.
A bell rang in John’s school.
A bell rang at John’s school.
A bell was rung at John’s school.
Is this correct grammar if I say, “The bell is ring five minutes before the time”?
It isn’t correct; however, the following sentences are grammatically correct:
“The bell is rung five minutes before the time.” OR “The bell is rung five minutes before class begins.” (present tense, passive voice)
“The bell rings five minutes before the time.” (present tense, active voice)
“The bell rang five minutes before the time.” (past tense)
“The bell will ring five minutes before the time.” (future tense)
The bell had already been____.
Please give me the answer.
rung
Do you say The call rang out or The call rung out?
The call rang out. OR
The call had rung out.
It [the bell] could be rung to signal that it was time to start the day’s work.
Is rung correct?
Yes, you are correct by using rung.
The bell should be rung at interval of every hour. Is it correct or wrong.
If wrong please the correct answer
You have chosen the correct verb form: rung. More natural ways of writing the sentence could be:
The bell should be rung every hour.
The bell should be rung hourly.
The bell should be rung at one-hour intervals.
“Ring me tonight”: Is it correct?
Yes, “ring me tonight” would be colloquial American English meaning “give me a call tonight.”
Have they rang the bell?
If it’s wrong what will it be?
The correct usage would be Have they rung the bell? Rung is the past participle form of ring.
Is it “have you rang John,” or “have you rung John?”
As the post says, the past participle is “have rung.”
I read this sentence in a novel, and it doesn’t sound right. “Dark circles rung both eyes.” When ring means “to encircle,” what is the past tense?
The verb should be ringed.
After the bell rang, the boys left the class (or)
After the bell had rung, the boys left the class .
Which is right?
If your aim is to communicate an immediate or straightforward sequence of events in the simple past tense, you would write “After the bell rang, the boys left the class.” This conveys that the actions (“rang,” “left”) occurred one right after the other or within a short time.
If you would like to further emphasize the time between one completed action and another, you would use the past perfect tense for the earlier action: “After the bell had rung, the boys left the class.” This indicates to the reader that more time has elapsed between the first action and the second.