to be silent — English conjugation

Frequency#15743Irregular

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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