to work — English conjugation

Frequency#15225Irregular

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
Iwork
youwork
he/she/itworks
wework
you (pl.)work
theywork

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
Iworked
youworked
he/she/itworked
weworked
you (pl.)worked
theyworked

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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