seen

Seen is the past participle of the verb see in English. It is used with auxiliary have, has, or had to form perfect tenses, as in I have seen that film or she had seen him before. It also appears in passive constructions with forms of be, as in The movie was seen by many, or The plan is seen as flawed. Seen can introduce participial phrases, for example, The matter, seen in a new light, changes its meaning, or in reduced relative clauses such as The video, seen on the site, attracted viewers.

Usage notes include that seen cannot function as a simple past tense on its own. A standard sentence requires an auxiliary, such as I have seen, not I seen. It commonly appears with modals in perfect forms, as in could have seen, might have seen, or must have seen. In addition, seen is frequently used in phrases like as seen on television to indicate a quotation or presentation in media.

In modern communications, seen is used as a status indicator on some messaging platforms to show that a message has been read by the recipient, though availability and terminology vary by service. This usage is separate from its grammatical role and reflects interface design rather than core English grammar.

Etymology traces seen to Old English gesēon, with connections to related Germanic verbs for seeing. The form has persisted into contemporary English as the standard past participle, continuing to support perfect and passive constructions as well as idiomatic expressions.