to wait — English conjugation

Frequency#370Irregular

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
Iwait
youwait
he/she/itwaits
wewait
you (pl.)wait
theywait

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
Iwaited
youwaited
he/she/itwaited
wewaited
you (pl.)waited
theywaited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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