Category: 03. Verb

One of the more complicated tenses in English, the perfect continuous tense combines the perfect and continuous tenses at the same time. It’s largely used like the perfect tense, but with ongoing or continuous actions. How to conjugate the present perfect continuous tense The present perfect continuous tense describes an ongoing action started in the past that…

As one of the most confusing tenses in English, the perfect tense takes some practice. It has very particular usage guidelines—especially the present perfect—and it’s closely related to the simple past.  How to conjugate the present perfect tense The present perfect tense is used for a few special circumstances, mostly connected to past events that haven’t yet…

The continuous tense—also known as the progressive tense—is used for mostly ongoing events that are temporary.  Remember that stative verbs cannot be used in the continuous tense. Actions about feelings or states of being that happened in the past use the simple past tense.  How to conjugate the present continuous tense The present continuous tense is used often, and…

The simple tenses are the most straightforward—that’s what makes them simple. They represent individual, one-time actions.  How to conjugate the present tense The simple present tense is used for actions that happen regularly or things that don’t change, such as preferences or opinions. It’s made with the root form, unless the subject is third-person singular (he, she,…

Using verbs isn’t as easy as just tossing them in a sentence. They need to represent the tense you want, as well as match the subject (subject-verb agreement, explained below). This is called verb conjugation, or changing the verb to fit the sentence. In English, there are four main tenses, each divided into three time periods,…

Do you like to swim? Do you enjoy learning? If you want to use a verb as a noun, you can turn it into an infinitive or gerund, the noun forms of verbs.  An infinitive adds the preposition to in front of a verb’s root form. Although technically two words, an infinitive acts as a single word, usually a noun, but…

Before we explain how to conjugate verbs in English, you need to understand the different forms a verb takes. This helps immeasurably when you conjugate on your own—you just need to use the right form at the right time. Keep in mind that these forms work mostly for regular verbs; irregular verbs each have their…

Aside from the different types, verbs also come in different categories. Dynamic, stative, and auxiliary verbs all make up the categories below.  Transitive, intransitive, and ditransitive Transitive, intransitive, and ditransitive refer to how a verb acts with direct and indirect objects. A direct object is the person or thing that the action happens to, while an indirect object…

Auxiliary verbs, or “helping verbs,” are used in English to change another verb’s tense, voice, or mood. When auxiliary verbs are used, there’s always a main verb that represents the main action. However, the auxiliary verb must still be conjugated correctly.  The main auxiliary verbs are be, have, and do. We explain how they’re used specifically for conjugating…

Dynamic (action) verbs Most verbs describe a physical action or activity, something external that can be seen or heard. These verbs are formally known as dynamic verbs, but can also be called action or event verbs.   Examples: walk, laugh, swim, play, eat, drink, sing, dance, talk, say There are a lot of actions that take place in our minds…