to reference — English conjugation

Frequency#1016Regular

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
Ireference
youreference
he/she/itreferences
wereference
you (pl.)reference
theyreference

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
Ireferenced
youreferenced
he/she/itreferenced
wereferenced
you (pl.)referenced
theyreferenced

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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