When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you might only see the base form of the verb. This means there’s a good chance you’ll have to conjugate the verb yourself! The verb conjugation English uses is simpler than some other languages, but there are also some things to watch out for.
Use this guide as a reference for basic verb conjugation charts, examples, and rules. If you still have questions, dig deeper with our other English grammar guides and stay curious.
Table of Contents
Learn about conjugation: English verbs
A verb conjugation is when you change a base verb form depending on how it’s being used in a sentence. In English, several things require verbs to be conjugated, such as:
- Point of view (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person)
- pronouns
- tense (such as present, past, and future)
The good news is that verbs are the only English part of speech that require conjugation. What’s more, English verb conjugations do not change based on gender. This means you have fewer conjugations to memorize when learning how to speak English!
What are the 12 English tenses?

To talk about when something happens, you use one of the English verb tenses. This allows the speaker to say whether an event happened in the past, the present, or the future. The three simple tenses are:
- present
- past
- future
Each simple tense above also has three more complex tenses (sometimes called aspects):
- continuous: describes an action that is ongoing (verb ends in -ing)
- perfect: describes an action that is completed (looks like past tense)
- perfect continuous: describes an action that was ongoing but is now completed (verb ends in -ing)
This makes a total of 12 tenses. That can seem like a lot, but the verb conjugations are very similar. The main difference is the addition of other words before the primary verb. This chart of verb tenses can help you see how verb conjugation in English works.
cook
Present | Past | Future |
cook | cooked | will cook |
Present Continuous | Past Continuous | Future Continuous |
am cooking | was cooking | will be cooking |
Present Perfect | Past Perfect | Future Perfect |
have cooked | had cooked | will have cooked |
Present Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect Continuous | Future Perfect Continuous |
have been cooking | had been cooking | will have been cooking |
- I cook often. → I cooked last night. → I will cook tonight.
- I am cooking now. → I was cooking an hour ago. → I will be cooking in a few minutes.
- I have cooked before. → If I had cooked earlier, I would not be hungry now. → I will have cooked the pasta by 7:00.
- I have been cooking for you. → I had been cooking all night. → I will have been cooking for three hours.
Basic conjugation charts for regular verbs
When you first start learning English, you’ll probably use the simple tenses most often. The exact spelling of the conjugation changes slightly between verbs. However, there are some general rules you can remember for regular verbs.
You may notice how similar the conjugations are between English pronouns. Verb conjugations can change based on the point of view or pronoun in the present, but simple tenses in English are consistent.
Add -s or -es in present tense
In present tense, there are two main conjugations. For pronouns I, you, we, and they, you don’t need to change the base verb. For pronouns he, she, and it, you will need to add -s or -es to the end of the base verb to correctly conjugate it. Most verbs will only need an -s.
like
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | like | liked | will like |
You/We/They | like | liked | will like |
He/She/It | likes | liked | will like |
- I like spaghetti. → He likes spaghetti.
However, depending on the final letters of a word, you may need to add -es instead. This applies to words that end in -ch, -ss, -sh, -x, or -zz.
pass
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | pass | passed | will pass |
You/We/They | pass | passed | will pass |
He/She/It | passes | passed | will pass |
- You pass the inspection. → It passes the inspection.
Regular verbs that end in -y after a consonant are a little special. The -y changes to -i, and then you add -es.
study
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | study | studied | will study |
You/We/They | study | studied | will study |
He/She/It | studies | studied | will study |
- We study at the library. → She studies at the library.
Add -d or -ed in past tense
Unlike present tense, all pronouns use the same past tense verb conjugation. In general, when you have a regular verb that ends in -e, you will add an -d on the end of the word for past tense.
shove
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | use | used | will use |
You/We/They | use | used | will use |
He/She/It | uses | used | will use |
- I used the pen.
Regular verbs that do not end in -e usually need an -ed on the end to make a past tense conjugation.
landed
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | walk | walked | will walk |
You/We/They | walk | walked | will walk |
He/She/It | walks | walked | will walk |
- We walked in New York.
Add the verb will in future tense
Conjugating future tense is very simple. All you need to do is add the word will before the base verb form.
play
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | play | played | will play |
You/We/They | play | played | will play |
He/She/It | plays | played | will play |
- They will play together.
work
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | work | worked | will work |
You/We/They | work | worked | will work |
He/She/It | works | worked | will work |
- She will work all day.
What are the conjugation rules for irregular verbs in English?

By definition, irregular verbs do not follow a standard set of rules. English has several irregular verbs with unique conjugations where nearly the entire word will change. This primarily affects the past tense, which you can see in these two chart examples.
see
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | see | saw | will see |
You/We/They | see | saw | will see |
He/She/It | sees | saw | will see |
think
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | think | thought | will think |
You/We/They | think | thought | will think |
He/She/It | thinks | thought | will think |
Irregular verbs take many forms. While some only change a letter or two, others look completely different from the base verb.
- I see the movie now. → I saw a movie yesterday.
- We think it will rain. → We thought it was going to rain.
- They go to high school now. → They went to high school last year.
- She will bring dinner tonight. → She brought dinner last night.
Look at these verbs carefully when they appear in a sentence, but try not to worry about memorizing them too much. Many irregular verbs are common enough that you’ll pick them up naturally through immersion learning.
How do you conjugate verbs ending with -ing?
English verb conjugations ending in -ing have multiple purposes. This conjugation is used for:
- Continuous aspect: describes ongoing actions (e.g., I am reading)
- Gerund: using a verb like a noun (e.g., I like reading).
- Adjective: using a verb to describe nouns (e.g., This book is exciting).
The rules surrounding the conjugation are fairly straightforward. For most verbs, you can add an -ing to the end of the base verb. For verbs that end in an “e,” you usually remove the “e” before adding -ing. Some verbs also require you to double the consonant at the end—keep an eye out for them!
Base Verb | Example |
begin | beginning |
drink | drinking |
eat | eating |
like | liking |
make | making |
swim | swimming |
How to conjugate English auxiliary verbs
Auxiliary verbs in English support the main verb of a sentence. You can also call them helping verbs. They appear in the more complex conjugations to describe when something is happening. English has three main auxiliary verbs: be, do, and have.
Be as an auxiliary verb
The verb be is probably one of the first verbs you learned in English. You can use it as a state-of-being verb like I am British. However, be also plays a supporting role as an auxiliary verb when you combine it with a main verb.
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | am | was | will be |
You/We/They | are | were | will be |
He/She/It | is | was | will be |
Continuous conjugations (which end in -ing) always use a conjugation of the auxiliary verb be in addition to the conjugated main verb.
- I walk to school. → I am walking to school.
- She walks to school. → She is walking to school.
Sometimes, a person or object is affected by an action instead of doing the action themselves. This is called passive form. When using it, a conjugation of be is also used. In this example, the past tense conjugation was is combined with sent.
- I sent a package. → The package was sent.
Have as an auxiliary verb
When used as an auxiliary verb, have is used in both present and past perfect tenses.
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | have | had | will have |
You/We/They | have | had | will have |
He/She/It | has | had | will have |
Perfect tenses describe things that have already finished.
- Joe eats sushi. → Joe has eaten sushi.
- We played in the park. → We had played in the park.
Do as an auxiliary verb
The auxiliary verb do performs many functions:
- making sentences negative
- asking questions
- showing emphasis
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | do | did | will do |
You/We/They | do | did | will do |
He/She/It | does | did | will do |
When asking a question, the subject goes between the conjugation of do and the main verb. You’ll also use do in response to questions.
- Did you work at a doctor’s office? → Yes, I did.
For negative sentences, you add the word not between the conjugated do and the main verb.
- They do not speak Spanish.
You can also say something more strongly by adding do before the main verb.
- I do love you.
How do you conjugate phrasal verbs in English?

A verb can be combined with an adverb or a preposition to create one action, and it’s known as a phrasal verb. Some may be familiar to you already:
- calm down: to relax after getting excited or upset
- cheer up: to become happier after being sad
- throw away: to put something in the trash
When conjugating phrasal verbs, only the verb portion is conjugated and not the additional adverb or preposition. For example, look at this chart for the phrasal verb look after:
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | look after | looked after | will look after |
You/We/They | look after | looked after | will look after |
He/She/It | looks after | looked after | will look after |
Do you see how look was conjugated and after stayed the same? Phrasal verbs can be tricky, but they’re very common English words. You’ll pick them up over time the more you use them!
- Look after your sister. → You looked after your sister.
Phrasal verbs are another place where you’ll see irregular verb conjugations. For the verb break up, the past tense doesn’t follow the usual -ed or -d rule.
Pronoun | Present | Past | Future |
I | break up | broke up | will break up |
You/We/They | break up | broke up | will break up |
He/She/It | breaks up | broke up | will break up |
- Did she break up with her boyfriend? → She broke up with her boyfriend.
Frequently asked questions about English verb conjugation
Conjugating verbs is often regarded as a challenging part of learning a new language. It’s natural to have questions about whether or not verbs make English a hard language to learn. Here are a few things that other people wonder about the rules of verb conjugation English uses.
How do you conjugate English verbs?
First, identify your base verb. Then, determine the tense or aspect you want to conjugate the verb into. If it’s a regular verb, follow the standard rules (which you can find in the conjugation charts in this guide). If it’s an irregular verb, you may need to look up its unique conjugations in a dictionary or English verb conjugation chart on irregular verbs.
Does English have a future tense conjugation?
There isn’t a specific verb conjugation English uses that acts directly on the base verb form for simple future tense in English. Instead, English often uses auxiliary verbs like be, have, will and going to before the base form of the main verb. For example, You will learn English and You are going to succeed.
Are English conjugations hard?
English conjugations can be hard, but they might also be easier than your native language. For example, English conjugations don’t change based on gender (like some Romance languages). The best way to learn them is to use them often. Use programs and apps designed to teach English (like Rosetta Stone) and you can pick up verb conjugations naturally!
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