to shorten — English conjugation

Frequency#1074Regular

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
Ishorten
youshorten
he/she/itshortens
weshorten
you (pl.)shorten
theyshorten

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
Ishortened
youshortened
he/she/itshortened
weshortened
you (pl.)shortened
theyshortened

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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