to commence — English conjugation

Frequency#1170Regular

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
Icommence
youcommence
he/she/itcommences
wecommence
you (pl.)commence
theycommence

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
Icommenced
youcommenced
he/she/itcommenced
wecommenced
you (pl.)commenced
theycommenced

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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