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The Verb "Undertake" in English

Conjugation of "To Undertake"

homesitemapirregular verbs undertake
The verb "undertake" is an irregular verb. (This means that "undertake" 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 Undertake"

FormundertakeAlternative Name
Base FormundertakeInfinitive Form
The -S FormundertakesThird Person Singular Form
Past FormundertookSimple Past Tense
The -ING FormundertakingPresent Participle Form
The Past Participle Formundertaken[no alternative name]

"To Undertake" in All the Tenses

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

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