What Is the Conjugation?

Conjugation is the way a verb changes form. It changes to match the subject (who does the action) and the time (when it happens). In English, conjugation is often simple, but it still matters.

Simple Definition

Conjugation means changing a verb to show tense, person, or number. For example, we change work to works in the present simple with he/she/it.

A Simple Example

• I work every day.
• She works every day.

The Elements of Conjugation

When we conjugate a verb, we often change it for these reasons:

• Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• Tense: present, past, future
• Number: singular or plural
• Verb type: regular or irregular

Element	What it answers	Example
Subject	Who?	He plays.
Tense	When?	Yesterday, I played.
Number	One or many?	They play.
Verb type	Regular or irregular?	go → went

Key Parts with Examples

1) Present Simple (-s with he/she/it)

In the present simple, most verbs add -s with he/she/it.

Subject	Verb: to work	Example sentence
I	work	I work on Mondays.
You	work	You work very well.
He / She / It	works	She works in a bank.
We	work	We work together.
They	work	They work at night.

• He plays football.
• It looks good.

2) Past Simple (-ed for regular verbs)

Many English verbs are regular. In the past simple, we add -ed.

• Today I walk to school. Yesterday I walked to school.
• We watch TV. We watched a film last night.

Base form	Past simple	Example
walk	walked	I walked home.
clean	cleaned	She cleaned the room.
study	studied	They studied English.

3) Irregular Verbs (special past forms)

Some verbs do not use -ed. They have special forms. You often need to memorize them.

Base form	Past simple	Past participle	Example
go	went	gone	She went home.
eat	ate	eaten	I ate pasta.
see	saw	seen	We saw a dog.

4) The Verb “To Be” (a special case)

To be changes a lot. It is very common, so it is important.

Tense	I	You / We / They	He / She / It
Present	am	are	is
Past	was	were	was

• I am tired.
• They are happy.
• He is at work.
• We were late yesterday.

Why Conjugation Is Important

• It shows time. People understand if an action is in the past, present, or future.
• It avoids confusion. “She works” is different from “They work.”
• It helps you sound natural. Small changes like works make a big difference.
• It supports correct grammar. It improves writing and speaking.

Comparison with Other Languages

English conjugation is often easier than French conjugation. French verbs change more for each subject.

Meaning	English (present)	French (present)
I speak	I speak	Je parle
You speak	You speak	Tu parles
He speaks	He speaks	Il parle
We speak	We speak	Nous parlons
You (plural) speak	You speak	Vous parlez
They speak	They speak	Ils parlent

In English, the verb form often stays the same. Only he/she/it usually changes in the present simple. In French, many subjects have different verb endings.

Complete Example

Here is one short story with several conjugated verbs:

• Every day, I get up at 7:00.
• My sister gets up at 8:00.
• Yesterday, we went to a café.
• We talked for an hour and ate cake.
• Now, I am at home and I feel good.
• Tomorrow, I will study English.

Verb	Conjugated form	Why it changes
get	gets	Present simple with she (+s)
go	went	Past simple irregular form
talk	talked	Past simple regular (-ed)
eat	ate	Past simple irregular form
be	am	Present of to be with I
study	will study	Future with will

Conclusion

Conjugation is the system that changes verb forms. In English, it is often simple, but key forms like works, went, and am are essential. Learning common patterns and irregular verbs will make your English clearer and more correct.

Sources

• Huddleston, Rodney & Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press.
• Quirk, Randolph; Greenbaum, Sidney; Leech, Geoffrey; Svartvik, Jan (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman.
• Swan, Michael (2016). Practical English Usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.