to act — English conjugation

Frequency#212Regular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Regular

The simple present describes habitual actions, general truths, and states. It is the most basic tense in English. For most verbs, add -s or -es for the third person singular (he, she, it).

She speaks three languages.

PronounEnglish
Iact
youact
he/she/itacts
weact
you (pl.)act
theyact

Past (Simple Past) Regular

The simple past describes completed actions at a specific time in the past. Regular verbs add -ed. There are around 200 common irregular verbs with unique past forms that must be learned individually.

She spoke to the manager yesterday.

PronounEnglish
Iacted
youacted
he/she/itacted
weacted
you (pl.)acted
theyacted

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Regular

The present continuous describes actions happening right now or temporary situations. Formed with am/is/are + verb-ing. Also used for definite future arrangements.

She is speaking to a client at the moment.

PronounEnglish
Iam acting
youare acting
he/she/itis acting
weare acting
you (pl.)are acting
theyare acting

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Regular

The past continuous describes actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past, often interrupted by another event. Formed with was/were + verb-ing.

She was speaking when the fire alarm went off.

PronounEnglish
Iwas acting
youwere acting
he/she/itwas acting
wewere acting
you (pl.)were acting
theywere acting

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Regular

The present perfect connects the past to the present. It describes experiences, recent events, or situations that started in the past and continue now. Formed with have/has + past participle.

She has spoken at over fifty conferences.

PronounEnglish
Ihave acted
youhave acted
he/she/ithas acted
wehave acted
you (pl.)have acted
theyhave acted

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Regular

The past perfect describes an action completed before another past event — the past of the past. Formed with had + past participle. Always implies a reference point in the past.

She had spoken to him before the meeting started.

PronounEnglish
Ihad acted
youhad acted
he/she/ithad acted
wehad acted
you (pl.)had acted
theyhad acted

Future (will) (Future Simple) Regular

The future simple expresses predictions, spontaneous decisions, and promises. Formed with will + base infinitive. The contracted form will not = won't is very common in spoken English.

She will speak at the conference tomorrow.

PronounEnglish
Iwill act
youwill act
he/she/itwill act
wewill act
you (pl.)will act
theywill act

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Regular

The future continuous describes an action that will be in progress at a specific future moment. Formed with will be + verb-ing. Often used to describe planned or expected ongoing actions.

This time tomorrow she will be speaking to the board.

PronounEnglish
Iwill be acting
youwill be acting
he/she/itwill be acting
wewill be acting
you (pl.)will be acting
theywill be acting

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Regular

The future perfect describes an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future. Formed with will have + past participle. Common with time expressions like by then, by the time.

By Friday she will have spoken to all the clients.

PronounEnglish
Iwill have acted
youwill have acted
he/she/itwill have acted
wewill have acted
you (pl.)will have acted
theywill have acted

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Regular

The conditional describes hypothetical situations and their results. Formed with would + base infinitive. Used in if-clauses, polite requests, and reported speech about future events.

She would speak more if she had the chance.

PronounEnglish
Iwould act
youwould act
he/she/itwould act
wewould act
you (pl.)would act
theywould act