Verb Conjugation
Core Concept
Conjugation refers to the act of changing the form of a verb and/or adding a helping verb to indicate person, number, and time (tense).
Present Tense
Action occurring at the present moment. Example: I now earn a good salary.
Singular |
Plural |
| I earn | we earn |
| you earn | you earn |
| they earn (gender neutral) | |
| she, he, it earns | they earn |
Past Tense
Action occurring at a definite time before the present moment. Example: Last year or yesterday, I earned a good salary.
Singular |
Plural |
| I earned | we earned |
| you earned | you earned |
| they, she, he, it earned | they earned |
Future Tense
Action occurring at some time beyond the present moment—in the future. Example: Next year, I will earn a good salary.
Singular |
Plural |
| I shall earn | we shall earn |
| you will earn | you will earn |
| they, she, he, it will earn | they will earn |
Present Perfect Tense
Action occurring in the past and continuing to occur in the present. Example: I have always earned a good salary. (I did and still am.)
Singular |
Plural |
| I have earned | we have earned |
| you have earned | you have earned |
| they have earned (gender neutral) | |
| she, he, it has earned | they have earned |
Past Perfect Tense
Action occurring in the past and continuing to occur up to a certain fixed time. Example: Before I left for college, I had earned ten thousand dollars. (Leaving for college is the fixed time when the earning ended.)
Singular |
Plural |
| I had earned | we had earned |
| you had earned | you had earned |
| they, she, he, it had earned | they had earned |
Future Perfect Tense
Action continuing up to a certain point in the future. Example: By next Christmas, I will have earned ten thousand dollars. (Christmas is the fixed point in the future when the earning will stop.)