to be afraid — English conjugation

Frequency#15604Irregular

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 afraid
youare afraid
he/she/itis afraid
weare afraid
you (pl.)are afraid
theyare afraid

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 afraid
youwere afraid
he/she/itwas afraid
wewere afraid
you (pl.)were afraid
theywere afraid

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 afraid
youare being afraid
he/she/itis being afraid
weare being afraid
you (pl.)are being afraid
theyare being afraid

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 afraid
youwere being afraid
he/she/itwas being afraid
wewere being afraid
you (pl.)were being afraid
theywere being afraid

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 afraid
youhave been afraid
he/she/ithas been afraid
wehave been afraid
you (pl.)have been afraid
theyhave been afraid

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 afraid
youhad been afraid
he/she/ithad been afraid
wehad been afraid
you (pl.)had been afraid
theyhad been afraid

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 afraid
youwill be afraid
he/she/itwill be afraid
wewill be afraid
you (pl.)will be afraid
theywill be afraid

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 afraid
youwill be being afraid
he/she/itwill be being afraid
wewill be being afraid
you (pl.)will be being afraid
theywill be being afraid

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 afraid
youwill have been afraid
he/she/itwill have been afraid
wewill have been afraid
you (pl.)will have been afraid
theywill have been afraid

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 afraid
youwould be afraid
he/she/itwould be afraid
wewould be afraid
you (pl.)would be afraid
theywould be afraid