The Verb "Speak" in English

Conjugation of "To Speak"

The verb "speak" is an irregular verb. (This means that "speak" does not form its simple past tense or its past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form.)

The Five Forms of "To Speak"

Form	speak	Alternative Name
Base Form	speak	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	speaks	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	spoke	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	speaking	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	spoken	[no alternative name]

"To Speak" in All the Tenses

The tables below show how "speak" conjugates in the past, present, and future tenses.

Past Tenses

Person	Simple Past	Past Progressive Tense	Past Perfect Tense	Past Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	spoke spoke spoke spoke spoke spoke The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.	was speaking were speaking was speaking were speaking were speaking were speaking The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.	had spoken had spoken had spoken had spoken had spoken had spoken The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.	had been speaking had been speaking had been speaking had been speaking had been speaking had been speaking The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

Present Tenses

Person	Simple Present	Present Progressive Tense	Present Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	speak speak speaks speak speak speak The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.	am speaking are speaking is speaking are speaking are speaking are speaking The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.	have spoken have spoken has spoken have spoken have spoken have spoken The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)	have been speaking have been speaking has been speaking have been speaking have been speaking have been speaking The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

Future Tenses

Person	Simple Future	Future Progressive Tense	Future Perfect Tense	Future Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	will speak will speak will speak will speak will speak will speak The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.	will be speaking will be speaking will be speaking will be speaking will be speaking will be speaking The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.	will have spoken will have spoken will have spoken will have spoken will have spoken will have spoken The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.	will have been speaking will have been speaking will have been speaking will have been speaking will have been speaking will have been speaking The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

Most Common Irregular Verbs

The two most common irregular verbs in English are "be" and "have." These pages give more details about these two verbs:

Here are the next 10 most common irregular verbs in English:

see, say, go, come, know, get, give, become, find, and think

This page was written by Craig Shrives.