to dictate — English conjugation

Frequency#1417Regular

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
Idictate
youdictate
he/she/itdictates
wedictate
you (pl.)dictate
theydictate

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
Idictated
youdictated
he/she/itdictated
wedictated
you (pl.)dictated
theydictated

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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