to distinguish — English conjugation

Frequency#443Regular

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
Idistinguish
youdistinguish
he/she/itdistinguishes
wedistinguish
you (pl.)distinguish
theydistinguish

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
Idistinguished
youdistinguished
he/she/itdistinguished
wedistinguished
you (pl.)distinguished
theydistinguished

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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