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The Verb "Seek" in English

Conjugation of "To Seek"

The verb "seek" is an irregular verb. (This means that "seek" 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 Seek"

FormseekAlternative Name
Base FormseekInfinitive Form
The -S FormseeksThird Person Singular Form
Past FormsoughtSimple Past Tense
The -ING FormseekingPresent Participle Form
The Past Participle Formsought[no alternative name]

"To Seek" in All the Tenses

The tables below show how "seek" conjugates in the past, present, and future tenses.

Past Tenses

PersonSimple PastPast Progressive TensePast Perfect TensePast Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • sought
  • sought
  • sought
  • sought
  • sought
  • sought
The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.
  • was seeking
  • were seeking
  • was seeking
  • were seeking
  • were seeking
  • were seeking
The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
  • had sought
  • had sought
  • had sought
  • had sought
  • had sought
  • had sought
The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.
  • had been seeking
  • had been seeking
  • had been seeking
  • had been seeking
  • had been seeking
  • had been seeking
The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

Present Tenses

PersonSimple PresentPresent Progressive TensePresent Perfect TensePresent Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • seek
  • seek
  • seeks
  • seek
  • seek
  • seek
The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.
  • am seeking
  • are seeking
  • is seeking
  • are seeking
  • are seeking
  • are seeking
The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.
  • have sought
  • have sought
  • has sought
  • have sought
  • have sought
  • have sought
The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)
  • have been seeking
  • have been seeking
  • has been seeking
  • have been seeking
  • have been seeking
  • have been seeking
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

PersonSimple FutureFuture Progressive TenseFuture Perfect TenseFuture Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • will seek
  • will seek
  • will seek
  • will seek
  • will seek
  • will seek
The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.
  • will be seeking
  • will be seeking
  • will be seeking
  • will be seeking
  • will be seeking
  • will be seeking
The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
  • will have sought
  • will have sought
  • will have sought
  • will have sought
  • will have sought
  • will have sought
The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
  • will have been seeking
  • will have been seeking
  • will have been seeking
  • will have been seeking
  • will have been seeking
  • will have been seeking
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:
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This page was written by Craig Shrives.

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