The Verb "Sow" in English

Conjugation of "To Sow"

The verb "sow" is an irregular verb. (This means that "sow" 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 Sow"

FormsowAlternative Name
Base FormsowInfinitive Form
The -S FormsowsThird Person Singular Form
Past FormsowedSimple Past Tense
The -ING FormsowingPresent Participle Form
The Past Participle Formsown[no alternative name]

"To Sow" in All the Tenses

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