3 Main Ways to Conjugate Verbs in English & Verb Conjugation Practice

Subject’s grammatical person

Subject

How to conjugate verbs

Example

Tobe

Singular first person

I

am/ was/ have been/ had been

I am a student. 

Plural first/ second/ third person

You, We, They

are/ were/ have been/ had been

They are my best friends.

Singular third person

He, She, It

is/ was/ has been/ had been

He is a singer.

Regular verb

Plural first/ second/ third person

I, You, We, They

Bare infinitive verb

I go to school every day.

Singular third person

He, She, It

Bare infinitive verb + suffix “-s” or “-es”.

She watches TV every evening.

Tense

Conjugate verbs according to the sentence’s tense

Example

Present simple tense

tobe: am/ is/ are (not);

Regular verb: V(e/ es) or (do/ does + not + V)

Linda isn’t a teacher anymore. 

The sun rises in the east. 

Present progressive tense

am/ is/ are (not) + V-ing

We are eating dinner at the restaurant.

Present perfect tense

have/ has (not) + V-ed/ Past Participle (PII)

David has lived in this city for five years.

Present Perfect Continuous tense

have/ has (not) + been + V-ing

I have been reading this book for hours. 

Tense

Conjugate verbs according to the sentence’s tense

Example

Past simple tense

tobe: was/ were (not)

Regular verb: V-ed/Past Simple (PI) or (did + not + V)

Bob played the piano when he was a child.

Past continuous tense

was/were (not) + V-ing

They were playing outside in the rain at 9 PM last night.

Past Perfect Tense

had (not) + V-ed/Past Participle (PII)

Mary had finished her homework before dinner. 

Past perfect continuous tense

had (not) + been + V-ing

I had been working at a multinational company for five years before I went abroad. 

Tense

Conjugate verbs according to the sentence’s tense

Example

Future Simple Tense

will (not) + be/V

She will visit her grandparents next month. 

Future continuous tense

will (not) + be + V-ing

They will be celebrating their anniversary on Saturday. 

Future perfect Tense

will (not) + have + V-ed/Past Participle (PII)

They will have completed the construction project before the deadline. 

Future perfect continuous tense

will (not) + have + been + V-ing

They will have been working on the project for three months by the time it’s done. 

Verb

Meaning

Example

afford

to have enough money to be able to buy or do something

She can’t afford to buy a new car right now because she’s saving money for her trip abroad.

choose

to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available

I choose to stay at home and watch TV. 

decide

to think carefully about the different possibilities that are available and choose one of them

After much consideration, they decided to move to a smaller town for a quieter lifestyle.

fail

to not be successful in achieving something

Despite studying all night, she still failed to pass the challenging exam.

hope

to want something to happen and think that it is possible

We hope to visit our grandparents during the summer vacation. 

learn

to gain knowledge or skill by studying, from experience, from being taught, etc.

He wants to learn to play the guitar, so he’s taking lessons twice a week.

manage

to control or be in charge of a business, a team, an organization, land, etc.

Despite his busy schedule, he managed to finish all his work on time. 

prepare

to make something or somebody ready to be used or to do something

She is preparing well to become a champion.

pretend

to behave in a particular way, in order to make other people believe something that is not true

Were you just pretending to be interested?

promise

to tell somebody that you will definitely do or not do something, or that something will definitely happen

He promised to help his friend move to a new apartment over the weekend.

seem

to give the impression of being or doing something

Despite her smile, she seems to be feeling a bit down today. 

Verb

Meaning

Example

admit

to agree, often unwillingly, that something is true

She admitted making a mistake in the report.

avoid

to prevent something bad from happening

He avoids eating sugary foods to maintain a healthy diet. 

can’t help

to not be able to control or stop something

She can’t help laughing at the funny movie. 

consider

to think about something carefully, especially in order to make a decision

They are considering redecorating their living room. 

delay

to make somebody/something late or force them to do something more slowly

I think we should delay deciding about this until next year.

deny

to say that something is not true

He denied stealing the cookies from the jar.

enjoy

to get pleasure from something

She enjoys reading novels in her free time.

finish

to stop doing something or making something because it is complete

He finished cleaning the garage just before the guests arrived.

imagine

to form a picture in your mind of what something might be like

She can’t imagine living in a big city; she prefers the quiet countryside.

keep

to continue to have something and not give it back or throw it away

He keeps trying to distract me.

mind

to be upset, annoyed or worried by something

Do you mind helping me move this heavy table? 

propose

to suggest a plan, an idea, etc. for people to think about and decide on

He proposed going for a hike on the weekend.

risk

to put something valuable or important in a dangerous situation, in which it could be lost or damaged

She risks losing her job if she doesn’t meet the project deadline.

Verb

Meaning

Meaning when another verb is attached

Example

Stop

• To V: Stopping one action in order to do something else
• V-ing: Ceasing an action completely

• She stopped to talk to her neighbor on her way to work. 
• She stopped talking when she saw him entering the room. 

Forget

• To V: Forgetting to do something that needs to be done (without actually doing it)
• V-ing: Forgotten completely about something that was actually done in the past

• He forgot to buy groceries at the store yesterday.
• He forgot locking the front door this morning. 

Remember

• To V: Remembering that something needs to be done (without having actually done it yet)
• V-ing: Remembering/ recalling something that was actually done in the past

• Did you remember to call your mother last night? 
• She always remembers sending her parents a gift on their anniversary. 

Regret

• To V: Regretting/ lamenting an unfortunate situation
• V-ing: Feeling remorseful/ repentant about something done in the past

• She regrets to inform you that the event has been canceled.
• He regretted not attending the important conference last week.

Try

• To V: Making an effort to do something
• V-ing: Trying or attempting to do something

• He’s to fix the leaking faucet.
• They are trying cooking a new dish for dinner tonight. 

Need

• To V: Needing to do something (active voice)
• V-ing: Something needing to be done (passive voice)

• I need to finish this report before the meeting tomorrow. 
• The car needs washing; it’s covered in dirt. 

Mean

• To V: Doing something for some purpose or intention
• V-ing: Explaining what something means or signifies

• What do you mean to say with that comment? 
• Adopting my new pets also mean taking much more responsibility, but I am more than happy to do so. 

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

1. eat 
2. are studying
3. has already visited
4. have been reading
5. played
6. was studying
7. had already left
8. had been waiting
9. will visit/ is going to visit
10. will be celebrating

1. A
2. A
3. B
4. B
5. A