to behave — English conjugation

Frequency#850Regular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Regular

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
Ibehave
youbehave
he/she/itbehaves
webehave
you (pl.)behave
theybehave

Past (Simple Past) Regular

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
Ibehaved
youbehaved
he/she/itbehaved
webehaved
you (pl.)behaved
theybehaved

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Regular

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

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Regular

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

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Regular

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

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Regular

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

Future (will) (Future Simple) Regular

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

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Regular

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

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Regular

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

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Regular

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