The Verb "Foretell" in English

Conjugation of "To Foretell"

The verb "foretell" is an irregular verb. (This means that "foretell" 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 Foretell"

Form	foretell	Alternative Name
Base Form	foretell	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	foretells	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	foretold	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	foretelling	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	foretold	[no alternative name]

"To Foretell" in All the Tenses

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