to govern — English conjugation

Frequency#626Regular

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
Igovern
yougovern
he/she/itgoverns
wegovern
you (pl.)govern
theygovern

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
Igoverned
yougoverned
he/she/itgoverned
wegoverned
you (pl.)governed
theygoverned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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