was held last

USAGE SUMMARY

"was held last" is a valid sentence structure and can be used in written English.
An example of how it might be used in a sentence might be: "The meeting was held last week."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

32 human-written examples

The final service was held last month.

Los Angeles Times

The last in a sporadic series of fruitless talks was held last June.

Huffington Post

Funeral was held last Saturday in MA.

The New York Times

The first hearing was held last Monday.

The New York Times

The presidential election was held last October.

The New York Times

His funeral service was held last month.

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

28 human-written examples

But occasionally you would be wrong — as with the final of the open trial that was held last month.

The New York Times

A new trial was held last week.

The New York Times

A memorial service was held last week.

The New York Times

LVI2017 was held last week at the Rutgers-Newark School of Law.

Cornell University

The 14th World Computer-Bridge Championship was held last month in Philadelphia.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "was held last" to clearly indicate the timing of an event in relation to the present, ensuring clarity for your audience. For example, "The conference "was held last" Tuesday."

Common error

Be specific about the time frame when using "was held last". Instead of just saying "the meeting "was held last"", specify the exact day, week, or month to avoid confusion.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "was held last" functions as a passive voice construction indicating that an event occurred in the recent past. Ludwig's examples show it used to describe meetings, elections, funerals and more.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

70%

Academia

15%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Science

5%

Reference

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "was held last" is a grammatically sound passive construction used to indicate an event's occurrence in the recent past. Ludwig AI confirms its validity and demonstrates common usage across diverse sources, including news, academia, and business. While grammatically correct, clarity is key; specify the exact timeframe (day, week, month) to avoid ambiguity. Alternatives such as "took place recently" and "occurred in the past" offer similar meanings. Although common in neutral contexts, its frequency is only uncommon. Using "was held last" helps establish a clear timeline for your audience.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

took place recently

Replaces the passive voice construction with a more direct active voice.

occurred in the past

Emphasizes the event's completion and its position in time.

happened recently

Uses a simpler verb to describe the event's occurrence.

concluded recently

Focuses on the completion or ending of the event.

was conducted recently

Highlights the formal or organized nature of the event.

was organized recently

Focuses on the planning and arrangement of the event.

was celebrated in the past

Emphasizes the celebratory aspect of the event.

was staged in the past

Highlights the performance or presentation aspect of the event.

was hosted recently

Focuses on who or what entity presented the event.

finished recently

Highlights the completion and recent timeline of the event.

FAQs

How can I use "was held last" in a sentence?

The phrase "was held last" is used to indicate that an event took place in a recent past. For instance, "The conference "was held last" week in London."

What are some alternatives to saying "was held last"?

Alternatives include phrases like "took place recently", "occurred in the past", or "happened recently". For example, instead of "The meeting "was held last" month", you could say "The meeting "took place recently"".

Is it correct to say "was hold last" instead of "was held last"?

No, "was hold last" is grammatically incorrect. The correct form is "was held last", where "held" is the past participle of the verb "hold". Using "hold" instead of "held" is a common error.

What's the difference between "was held last week" and "will be held next week"?

"Was held last week" indicates that an event already occurred in the past, specifically during the previous week. In contrast, "will be held next week" refers to an event that is scheduled to happen in the upcoming week. The key difference is the timeframe: past versus future.