What Common English Verb Becomes Its Own Past Tense by Rearranging Its Letters? is a word riddle for spelling fans. Guess, then tap Show Answer.
Riddle: What common English verb becomes its own past tense by rearranging its letters?
Answer: eat
Need a hint?
You do it at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Answer and explanation (spoiler!)
The answer is eat (which becomes “ate”).
The verb “eat” has the past tense “ate”. Both use exactly the same three letters, E, A and T, just in a different order.
This is called an anagram: a word made by rearranging the letters of another word.
Difficulty: Hard · Best for: ages 9 and up
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FAQ
Are there other answers?
“Eat” and “ate” are the famous pair. Very few other common verbs work this way.
What is an anagram?
A word or phrase made by rearranging the letters of another, like “listen” and “silent”.