The Verb "Weep" in English

Conjugation of "To Weep"

The verb "weep" is an irregular verb. (This means that "weep" 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 Weep"

Form	weep	Alternative Name
Base Form	weep	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	weeps	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	wept	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	weeping	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	wept	[no alternative name]

"To Weep" in All the Tenses

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