lose or lost

Lost or Lose? What is the difference? (+Loss)

Vocabulary / By

Lose is the present simple of the verb “to lose”.Lost is the past simple and past participle of the verb “to lose” and can also be used as an adjective.

The verb “to lose” means to misplace something or to be defeated in a contest. 

Lose

Lose is the present simple of the verb to “lose”. We use lose when the subject is in the first and second person singular and also in the plural. 

I lose 

You lose

He/She loses 

We lose

They lose

We lose every time we play.

Don’t lose my phone, I will need it later.

Lost

“Lost” is the past simple and past participle of the verb “to lose”. The past simple is used for completed actions in the past and the past participle is used in compound tenses like the present perfect.

I lost my phone yesterday.

I have lost so many phones over the years.

“Lost” can also be used as an adjective. Adjectives are usually used with the verb “to be”. In this situation, we use lost when we are in a state of confusion and often geographically or mentally unaware of our location or position. 

I am lost, I can’t find the hospital. Do you know where it is?

I am lost! I don’t understand anything.

In this second example, we use lost when we don’t understand something that is complex like a math problem.

Loss

Loss is the noun of the adjective lost.

Hair loss is common among men aged over 40.

You need to check your profits against your losses.

More examples with Lose and Lost

You have lost weight since the last time I saw you. 

I lost my job last year but I will find a new one.

I always lose interest in the movie after an hour.

We lost the game but we played well.

Don’t ever lose hope. You can do it.

I lost money when I started gambling.

Have you ever lost someone to cancer? 

Conor
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