The Verb "Sell" in English

Conjugation of "To Sell"

The verb "sell" is an irregular verb. (This means that "sell" 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 Sell"

Form	sell	Alternative Name
Base Form	sell	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	sells	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	sold	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	selling	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	sold	[no alternative name]

Example Sentences with To Sell

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

"To Sell" in All the Tenses

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