The Verb "Spread" in English

Conjugation of "To Spread"

The verb "spread" is an irregular verb. (This means that "spread" 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 Spread"

Form	spread	Alternative Name
Base Form	spread	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	spreads	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	spread	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	spreading	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	spread	[no alternative name]

"To Spread" in All the Tenses

The tables below show how "spread" 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	spread spread spread spread spread spread The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.	was spreading were spreading was spreading were spreading were spreading were spreading The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.	had spread had spread had spread had spread had spread had spread The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.	had been spreading had been spreading had been spreading had been spreading had been spreading had been spreading 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	spread spread spreads spread spread spread The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.	am spreading are spreading is spreading are spreading are spreading are spreading The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.	have spread have spread has spread have spread have spread have spread The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)	have been spreading have been spreading has been spreading have been spreading have been spreading have been spreading 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 spread will spread will spread will spread will spread will spread The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.	will be spreading will be spreading will be spreading will be spreading will be spreading will be spreading The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.	will have spread will have spread will have spread will have spread will have spread will have spread The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.	will have been spreading will have been spreading will have been spreading will have been spreading will have been spreading will have been spreading 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.