Dived is the standard past-tense and past-participle form of the verb dive. This has always been the case throughout the history of modern English. The use of dove as a form of dive comes from a false analogy with drove and drive. But notwithstanding the opinions of English arbiters, American English has adopted dove, and there’s probably nothing we can do about it. Canadian writers prefer dove as well, although dived appears about a third of the time in Canadian publications.
Examples
These British and Australian writers use the traditional dived:
Deborah dived in to save Grace and both were helped out by other visitors. [BBC News]
From a year earlier, the number of sales dived just over 40 per cent. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Mr Adams was flying the light aircraft which nose-dived into a field . . . [Telegraph]
And while dived appears occasionally in American publications and slightly more often in Canadian writing, dove prevails—for example:
She also got a good emotional moment, too, when she dove in for the hug. [Los Angeles Times]
In June 2008, John David Pearce of Fort Erie, Ont., dove into a swift current to save a woman from drowning. [Winnipeg Free Press]
He did his research – learning which guitars work best with which amps – and dove into rock history to confirm his finds. [Forbes]
