to gnaw at — English conjugation

Frequency#17267Regular

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
Ignaw at
yougnaw at
he/she/itgnaws at
wegnaw at
you (pl.)gnaw at
theygnaw at

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
Ignawed at
yougnawed at
he/she/itgnawed at
wegnawed at
you (pl.)gnawed at
theygnawed at

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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