to say — English conjugation

Frequency#240Irregular

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
Isay
yousay
he/she/itsays
wesay
you (pl.)say
theysay

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
Isaid
yousaid
he/she/itsaid
wesaid
you (pl.)said
theysaid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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