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'Groan' is a deep sound of pain or annoyance; 'grown' is the past participle of 'to grow'.
Side-by-side comparison
"Groan" is the moan or grunt: the sound you make when something hurts or seems terrible. Also the verb to make that sound.
The audience groaned when the presenter announced another delay.
He let out a groan when he saw the size of the report.
The old floorboards groaned under the weight of the furniture.
"Grown" is the past participle of "grow": to have grown. "She has grown a lot" = she has grown a great deal. "Grown-up" = adult person.
The company has grown from five employees to over two hundred.
The children have grown so much since I last saw them.
By the time she was twenty-five, she was a fully grown professional.
Common mistake
- •"The market has groan significantly" when meaning expanded is wrong: the past participle of "grow" is "grown".
- •"Groan" is the sound of pain or annoyance.
Trick to remember it
- •"Groan" rhymes with "moan": both are sounds of discomfort with OA.
- •"Grown" rhymes with "known", "blown", "thrown": all past participles with OW.
Quick rule
- •Is it the sound of pain or annoyance? "Groan".
- •Is it the past participle of to grow? "Grown".
Did you know?
English has the concept of a "groan-worthy joke", a pun or "dad joke" so bad it provokes an involuntary groan. Interestingly, groan-inducing humor serves a real social function: it breaks the ice without creating conflict. The collective groan at a terrible pun is, ironically, one of the most effective social bonding mechanisms, everyone shares the experience of suffering through it together.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
He _____ ed when he saw the pile of dishes in the sink.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The children have _____ so much since I last saw them. They are so tall now!
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy