to dread — English conjugation

Frequency#1513Regular

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
Idread
youdread
he/she/itdreads
wedread
you (pl.)dread
theydread

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
Idreaded
youdreaded
he/she/itdreaded
wedreaded
you (pl.)dreaded
theydreaded

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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