to stay — English conjugation

Frequency#13529Irregular

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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