to be difficult — English conjugation

Frequency#15644Irregular

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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