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The Verb "Wake" in English

Conjugation of "To Wake"

The verb "wake" is an irregular verb. (This means that "wake" 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 Wake"

FormwakeAlternative Name
Base FormwakeInfinitive Form
The -S FormwakesThird Person Singular Form
Past FormwokeSimple Past Tense
The -ING FormwakingPresent Participle Form
The Past Participle Formwoken[no alternative name]

"To Wake" in All the Tenses

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