to break — English conjugation

Frequency#4014Irregular

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
Ibreak
youbreak
he/she/itbreaks
webreak
you (pl.)break
theybreak

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
Ibroke
youbroke
he/she/itbroke
webroke
you (pl.)broke
theybroke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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