to may — English conjugation

Frequency#424Regular

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
Imay
youmay
he/she/itmays
wemay
you (pl.)may
theymay

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
Imayed
youmayed
he/she/itmayed
wemayed
you (pl.)mayed
theymayed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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