to delay — English conjugation

Frequency#342Regular

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
Idelay
youdelay
he/she/itdelays
wedelay
you (pl.)delay
theydelay

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
Idelayed
youdelayed
he/she/itdelayed
wedelayed
you (pl.)delayed
theydelayed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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