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'Throne' is the ceremonial seat of a monarch; 'thrown' is the past participle of 'to throw'.
Side-by-side comparison
"Throne" is the ceremonial chair of a monarch. By extension, the power or position of a ruler. "Come to the throne" = ascend to royal power.
The king sat on his throne to receive the visiting ambassadors.
The heir to the throne gave a speech at the ceremony.
Power corrupts those who seek the throne at any cost.
"Thrown" is the past participle of "throw". "The ball was thrown" = someone launched the ball. "Thrown off" = destabilized. Pronounced the same as "throne".
The ball was thrown so hard it dented the wall.
I was thrown off by the sudden change in the project timeline.
The new data has thrown our initial assumptions into question.
Common mistake
- •"He was throned off his horse" when meaning tossed or ejected is wrong (correct: thrown).
- •And "The ball was throned" when meaning tossed is wrong (correct: thrown).
- •"Throne" is only the monarch's ceremonial seat.
Trick to remember it
- •"Throne" ends in ONE, a throne belongs to one person, the single monarch.
- •"Thrown" ends in OWN, like "blown" and "known", all past participles of irregular verbs.
Quick rule
Is it the monarch's ceremonial seat? "Throne." Is it the past participle of to throw? "Thrown."
Did you know?
THRONE comes from Greek "thronos" (elevated seat, chair of authority), the same root as "thrombosis" (a clot blocking a vessel, something obstructing the seat of flow). THROW comes from Old English "þrawan" (to turn, to twist), the idea of rotating the arm before releasing an object. The two words have no etymological relationship whatsoever, and their similar sound is a pure accident of English historical phonology. The Iron Throne of "Game of Thrones" is made, in the fiction, from the melted swords of King Aegon the Conqueror's defeated enemies.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The king sat on his _____ and addressed the court.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She had _____ her old textbooks away before realising she still needed one.
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