to finish — English conjugation

Frequency#7493Regular

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
Ifinish
youfinish
he/she/itfinishes
wefinish
you (pl.)finish
theyfinish

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
Ifinished
youfinished
he/she/itfinished
wefinished
you (pl.)finished
theyfinished

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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