The Verb "Write" in English

Conjugation of "To Write"

The verb "write" is an irregular verb. (This means that "write" 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 Write"

Form	write	Alternative Name
Base Form	write	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	writes	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	wrote	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	writing	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	written	[no alternative name]

Example Sentences with To Write

It's your go. Select the correct version of "to write":

"To Write" in All the Tenses

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