to can — English conjugation

Frequency#5Regular

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
Ican
youcan
he/she/itcans
wecan
you (pl.)can
theycan

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
Icanned
youcanned
he/she/itcanned
wecanned
you (pl.)canned
theycanned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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