to eat — English conjugation

Frequency#6588Irregular

Indicative

Present (Simple Present) Irregular

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
Ieat
youeat
he/she/iteats
weeat
you (pl.)eat
theyeat

Past (Simple Past) Irregular

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
Iate
youate
he/she/itate
weate
you (pl.)ate
theyate

Present continuous (Present Continuous) Irregular

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

Past continuous (Past Continuous) Irregular

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

Present perfect (Present Perfect) Irregular

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

Past perfect (Past Perfect) Irregular

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

Future (will) (Future Simple) Irregular

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

Future continuous (Future Continuous) Irregular

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

Future perfect (Future Perfect) Irregular

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

Subjunctive

Conditional (would) (Conditional) Irregular

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