to retort — English conjugation

Frequency#2182Regular

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
Iretort
youretort
he/she/itretorts
weretort
you (pl.)retort
theyretort

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
Iretorted
youretorted
he/she/itretorted
weretorted
you (pl.)retorted
theyretorted

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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