to soften — English conjugation

Frequency#763Regular

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
Isoften
yousoften
he/she/itsoftens
wesoften
you (pl.)soften
theysoften

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
Isoftened
yousoftened
he/she/itsoftened
wesoftened
you (pl.)softened
theysoftened

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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