The Verb "Understand" in English

Conjugation of "To Understand"

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The verb "understand" is an irregular verb. (This means that "understand" 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 Understand"

Form	understand	Alternative Name
Base Form	understand	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	understands	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	understood	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	understanding	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	understood	[no alternative name]

Example Sentences with To Understand

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

"To Understand" in All the Tenses

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