The Verb "Spend" in English

Conjugation of "To Spend"

The verb "spend" is an irregular verb. (This means that "spend" 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 Spend"

Form	spend	Alternative Name
Base Form	spend	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	spends	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	spent	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	spending	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	spent	[no alternative name]

"To Spend" in All the Tenses

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