to start off — English conjugation

Frequency#19142Regular

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
Istart off
youstart off
he/she/itstarts off
westart off
you (pl.)start off
theystart off

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
Istarted off
youstarted off
he/she/itstarted off
westarted off
you (pl.)started off
theystarted off

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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