to better — English conjugation

Frequency#238Regular

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
Ibetter
youbetter
he/she/itbetters
webetter
you (pl.)better
theybetter

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
Ibettered
youbettered
he/she/itbettered
webettered
you (pl.)bettered
theybettered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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