to be absent — English conjugation

Frequency#15600Irregular

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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