to stay behind — English conjugation

Frequency#19154Irregular

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
Istay behind
youstay behind
he/she/itstays behind
westay behind
you (pl.)stay behind
theystay behind

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
Istayed behind
youstayed behind
he/she/itstayed behind
westayed behind
you (pl.)stayed behind
theystayed behind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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