The Verb "Read" in English

Conjugation of "To Read"

The verb "read" is an irregular verb. (This means that "read" 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 Read"

Form	read	Alternative Name
Base Form	read	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	reads	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	read	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	reading	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	read	[no alternative name]

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"To Read" in All the Tenses

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