to cotton — English conjugation

Frequency#5318Regular

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
Icotton
youcotton
he/she/itcottons
wecotton
you (pl.)cotton
theycotton

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
Icottoned
youcottoned
he/she/itcottoned
wecottoned
you (pl.)cottoned
theycottoned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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