The Verb "Eat" in English

Conjugation of "To Eat"

The verb "eat" is an irregular verb. (This means that "eat" 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 Eat"

Form	eat	Alternative Name
Base Form	eat	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	eats	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	ate	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	eating	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	eaten	[no alternative name]

Example Sentences with To Eat

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

"To Eat" in All the Tenses

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