to be able to — English conjugation

Frequency#15588Irregular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	am able to
you	are able to
he/she/it	is able to
we	are able to
you (pl.)	are able to
they	are able to

Past (Simple Past) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	was able to
you	were able to
he/she/it	was able to
we	were able to
you (pl.)	were able to
they	were able to

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	am being able to
you	are being able to
he/she/it	is being able to
we	are being able to
you (pl.)	are being able to
they	are being able to

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	was being able to
you	were being able to
he/she/it	was being able to
we	were being able to
you (pl.)	were being able to
they	were being able to

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	have been able to
you	have been able to
he/she/it	has been able to
we	have been able to
you (pl.)	have been able to
they	have been able to

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	had been able to
you	had been able to
he/she/it	had been able to
we	had been able to
you (pl.)	had been able to
they	had been able to

Future (will) (Future Simple) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	will be able to
you	will be able to
he/she/it	will be able to
we	will be able to
you (pl.)	will be able to
they	will be able to

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	will be being able to
you	will be being able to
he/she/it	will be being able to
we	will be being able to
you (pl.)	will be being able to
they	will be being able to

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	will have been able to
you	will have been able to
he/she/it	will have been able to
we	will have been able to
you (pl.)	will have been able to
they	will have been able to

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Irregular

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.

Pronoun	English
I	would be able to
you	would be able to
he/she/it	would be able to
we	would be able to
you (pl.)	would be able to
they	would be able to