The meaning of these two words is precisely the same. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the meaning of ‘choose’ is; to decide which thing or person you want out of the available ones. It is a verb in function and is quite commonly used both formally and informally.
The basic differences between the two words do not lie in their fundamental meanings but in their tenses and their appropriate uses. After all, if you couldn’t distinguish the difference between today and yesterday, you’d never get anything done.
Key Takeaways
- “Choose” is the present tense form of the verb, while “chose” is the past tense form.
- “Choose” refers to a decision made in the present or future, while “chose” refers to a decision made in the past.
- The verb “choose” is regular, while “chose” is irregular.
Choose vs Chose
Choose is the present form of the verb, while the past tense of choose is “Chose”. The examples of chose and chose are “there are too many options of match coffee to choose from”, “I chose to spend a year away from home, and I think it was the right choice.” and “I chose to study French in school”.
Choose is a term used to denote the meaning of choice. If the subject decides to opt for something instead of something, is what the fundamental meaning of ‘choose’ is.
Talking about its form, the word itself has a couple of tenses and yet devices the same meaning in all the tenses, regardless of usage. Synonyms of the word ‘choose’ include many other words like pick-out, select and opt.
Now, when we consider the various forms of the root word, we get the simple past tense too. The simple past tense form of ‘choose’ is ‘chose’. The meaning stays the same, just the usage differs from the perspective and time of action of the subject.
The word still retains its functionality as a verb (intransitive or transitive) and depends on the phase of usage. The simple difference between present tense and past tense can become crucial when considering correct English.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Choose | Chose |
|---|---|---|
| Etymology | Old English ceosan, class II strong verb; past tense ceas. | French, from Latin causa cause, reason. |
| Pronunciation | The word ‘choose’ is pronounced as /tʃuz/. | The word ‘chose’ is pronounced as \shōz\. |
| Tense | The tense of the root word is Simple present tense. | The tense of ‘chose’ is Simple past tense. |
| Meaning | The act of selecting the best option or the action of picking out something or someone. (Limited to the present tense of the subject) | The act of selection of the best option or the action of picking out something or someone concerning the past tense of the subject. (Action already done) |
| Usage | 1. I should choose the best possible career for my life. 2. I told Sasha to choose her favorite guy as her prom date. | 1. I chose Journalism as my life’s career. 2. Sasha chose Robby as her prom date for the prom night. |
What is Choose?
The word ‘choose’ has been used before the 12th century and is one of the commonest English words used colloquially as well as in written literature, a derivative of the noun ‘choice’.
Dated back to the age of old English, the etymology of this particular word is quite rich and has travelled the European provinces verbally. Middle English chose, from Old English cēosan; akin to Old High German kiosan to choose, Latin gustare to taste.
When talking about the meaning of choice, it simply means the act of selecting from a set of given options. The verb being its functionality, this particular word is dependent on the action of the subject in a sentence.
Synonyms of ‘choose’ include pick-out, select, opt, hand-pick, go for, etc. The word itself delivers a very commonly used term of action. There are other forms of this word depending on the tense, like a past participle, ing form, and simple past as well.
Another interesting fact about this form of ‘choose’ is that it’s very commonly used for the first-person voice. Under are listed some examples of the usage of this verb;
- I choose to be your partner for life. (First-person voice)
- Choose whatever suits you best for you. (First-person dialogue)
- I choose to do this work every day. (First-person voice)
What is Chose?
Just like its root word, it carries the same meaning of opting and selecting from a set of options (dependent on the subject). However, the etymology of this word dates back much older than the root word itself!
This is because the spelling delivers another word that was earlier used as a noun. The word ‘Chose’ earlier (Noun French, from Latin causa) was used as a name in old English. The pronunciation being; \shōz\ dates back to 1600 BC.
Now, considering the tense of the verb form of chose, it is functionally the simple past form of the root verb word ‘choose’. Still has just one mode of functionality i.e., transitive or intransitive verb. The meaning also stays constant and may depend on the subject or the object of the sentence.
Unlike its root word, ‘chose’ can be used in any voice (first, second or third person). As it is the simple past tense of choose, it still is considered as the sub-derivative of the parent word ‘choice’ (which is a noun).
Some examples of usage of the word ‘chose’ along with the voice;
- He chose me as his partner for the group task. (Second person voice)
- I chose black forest over red velvet. (First-person voice)
- She chose the black jacket over the pink one. (Second person dialogue)
Main Differences Between Choose and Chose
- The word choose is pronounced as /tʃuz/ whereas the word ‘chose’ is pronounced as \shōz\.
- ‘Choose’ is the simple present tense of the word ‘choice’, but chose is the simple past tense of choice.
- ‘Choose’ is limited to first-person voice, whereas ‘chose’ can be used in both first and second-person voice.
- Etymology and origin of ‘choose’ dates back to the 12th century, whereas chose dates back to 1600 BC.
- Choose can be used in continuous or progressive form, whereas chose can be used in perfect tenses.
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chose
- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/choose#:~:text=1%5Bintransitive%2C%20transitive%5D%20to,Sarah%20chose%20her%20words%20carefully.
- https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/choose
Last Updated : 05 August, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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