Browse Definitions :

Forecast or forecasted?

Writing for Business

Which is correct?
The global pharmaceutical market is ________ to exceed $975 billion by 2013.
a. forecast
b. forecasted

Answer: a

Explanation:
Although both are used, forecast is the preferred form. Forecast is an irregular verb, meaning that its past forms don’t follow the general rule of adding ed to the base.

There are lots of other verbs that are unchanged in past tense forms. You’d never say, for example, “I putted all my money into the healthcare IT tech stocks.” To a stickler, forecasted sounds just as wrong.

That said, you can probably get away with forecasted in informal writing — but why would you want to? And if you follow AP style, stick to forecast.

UsingEnglish.com explains irregular verbs and provides a handy list.

Dig Deeper on Writing for Business

Networking
  • network interface card (NIC)

    A network interface card (NIC) is a hardware component, typically a circuit board or chip, installed on a computer so it can ...

  • User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

    User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a communications protocol primarily used to establish low-latency and loss-tolerating connections...

  • Telnet

    Telnet is a network protocol used to virtually access a computer and provide a two-way, collaborative and text-based ...

Security
  • advanced persistent threat (APT)

    An advanced persistent threat (APT) is a prolonged and targeted cyber attack in which an intruder gains access to a network and ...

  • Mitre ATT&CK framework

    The Mitre ATT&CK (pronounced miter attack) framework is a free, globally accessible knowledge base that describes the latest ...

  • timing attack

    A timing attack is a type of side-channel attack that exploits the amount of time a computer process runs to gain knowledge about...

CIO
HRSoftware
  • employee resource group (ERG)

    An employee resource group is a workplace club or more formally realized affinity group organized around a shared interest or ...

  • employee training and development

    Employee training and development is a set of activities and programs designed to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of ...

  • employee sentiment analysis

    Employee sentiment analysis is the use of natural language processing and other AI techniques to automatically analyze employee ...

Customer Experience
  • customer profiling

    Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by ...

  • customer insight (consumer insight)

    Customer insight, also known as consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and ...

  • buyer persona

    A buyer persona is a composite representation of a specific type of customer in a market segment.

Close