The Verb "Swear" in English

Conjugation of "To Swear"

The verb "swear" is an irregular verb. (This means that "swear" 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 Swear"

FormswearAlternative Name
Base FormswearInfinitive Form
The -S FormswearsThird Person Singular Form
Past FormsworeSimple Past Tense
The -ING FormswearingPresent Participle Form
The Past Participle Formsworn[no alternative name]

"To Swear" in All the Tenses

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