to make up for — English conjugation

Frequency#17958Irregular

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
Imake up for
youmake up for
he/she/itmakes up for
wemake up for
you (pl.)make up for
theymake up for

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
Imade up for
youmade up for
he/she/itmade up for
wemade up for
you (pl.)made up for
theymade up for

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 making up for
youare making up for
he/she/itis making up for
weare making up for
you (pl.)are making up for
theyare making up for

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 making up for
youwere making up for
he/she/itwas making up for
wewere making up for
you (pl.)were making up for
theywere making up for

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 made up for
youhave made up for
he/she/ithas made up for
wehave made up for
you (pl.)have made up for
theyhave made up for

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 made up for
youhad made up for
he/she/ithad made up for
wehad made up for
you (pl.)had made up for
theyhad made up for

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 make up for
youwill make up for
he/she/itwill make up for
wewill make up for
you (pl.)will make up for
theywill make up for

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 making up for
youwill be making up for
he/she/itwill be making up for
wewill be making up for
you (pl.)will be making up for
theywill be making up for

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 made up for
youwill have made up for
he/she/itwill have made up for
wewill have made up for
you (pl.)will have made up for
theywill have made up for

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 make up for
youwould make up for
he/she/itwould make up for
wewould make up for
you (pl.)would make up for
theywould make up for