to smell — English conjugation

Frequency#464Irregular

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
Ismell
yousmell
he/she/itsmells
wesmell
you (pl.)smell
theysmell

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
Ismelled
yousmelled
he/she/itsmelled
wesmelled
you (pl.)smelled
theysmelled

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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