to spell — English conjugation

Frequency#470Irregular

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
Ispell
youspell
he/she/itspells
wespell
you (pl.)spell
theyspell

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
Ispelled
youspelled
he/she/itspelled
wespelled
you (pl.)spelled
theyspelled

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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