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Cambridge + Yuzhe

Common mistake - open or opened


We use open as an adjective to mean ‘not closed’:

I stopped the car when I realised that the door was open.

Not: … that the door was opened.

Opened is the past form of the verb open:

Can you open the window, please? (present)

She opened her eyes and immediately looked at the clock. (past)

Warning:

We don’t use open to refer to turning on taps and switches:

Please turn on the taps separately.

Not: Please open the taps …

Can you switch on the lights, please?

Not: Can you open the lights …

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