Verbs are famously known to be divided into three different tense forms; present, past, and future. Let us see how a verb like “know” fits and shifts form under these tenses.
“Know” is a verb that signifies a situation of being aware of something or certain information. The verb in the past tense is called “knew” and in the future tense it is “will know”. The mentioned iterations of the tenses are their base forms, they can be further conjugated depending on the type of sub-tense used.
Let us explore further what sub-tenses are and how a word like “know” can be used in the contexts of those said tenses.
Know in present tense
All verbs have conjugational forms in all three of the tenses. Let us take a deeper look into the present tense form of “know” for now.
“Know” is employed in its base form in the present tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information is happening during an ongoing time. Another indicator of “knit” having been used in the present tense would be auxiliary verbs like ‘is’, ‘have’, ‘has’, ‘am’, ‘are’, etc.
When can “know” be used in the present tense?
Different Forms of Present Tense | When can “know” be used in respective present tense forms? |
1. Simple Present Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in simple present tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information has taken place in the present. |
2. Present Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the present continuous tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information is in the process of being taken place in the present. |
3. Present Perfect Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the present perfect tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information has completely taken place in the present. |
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the present perfect continuous tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information has begun to take place in the past and continues to take place in the present. |
Examples of “know” are used in different present tense forms.
Types of Present Tense | Example Sentences | Explanations |
1. Simple Present Tense | To know the ins and outs of a city as though it is the back of your palm is an underrated talent and we all know that the people that uphold this quality are usually tour guides. | The simple present tense form of the verb “know” has been used here, which in this case is the base form as well. The verb is a way to showcase the action that the subject performs over the object of the sentence, which is quite evident from the example over here. |
2. Present Continuous Tense | To be knowing the ins and outs of a city as though it is the back of your palm is an underrated talent and we all know that the people that uphold this quality are usually tour guides. | The auxiliary verb “is” presents itself as a signifier for the continued action that is taking place presently in the given example scenario. That and the ‘-ing’ suffix added to the main verb consequently puts “is knowing” under the present continuous tense form. |
3. Present Perfect Tense | To have known the ins and outs of a city as though it is the back of your palm is an underrated talent and we all know that the people that uphold this quality are usually tour guides. | Now, in this sample sentence, the auxiliary verb ‘have’ showcases the present time and the ‘-ed’ suffix at the end of the verb makes it out to be in its past participle form, further signifying the completion of the action, thus making ‘have known’ a verb in the present perfect tense form. |
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | To have been knowing the ins and outs of a city as though it is the back of your palm is an underrated talent and we all know that the people that uphold this quality are usually tour guides. | The present perfect continuous tense form of “have been knowing” is a mixture of two previously mentioned tense forms which can be noted by the ‘-ing’ at the end of the main verb that showcases its continuous function and the modal verb ‘been’ placed before it that signifies the completion of the action. |
Know in the past tense
As is the case with all verbs, even a word like “know” has a different conjugational structure in the past tense. Let us see how that works.
“Know” is employed in the past tense in the form of “knew” or sometimes even “known”. When the awareness of something or certain information was happening at a time that passed by, it is considered to be past tense. Another factor that showcases the past tense of verbs is auxiliary verbs like ‘had’, ‘were’, and ‘was’.
When can “know” be used in the past tense?
Different Forms of Past Tense | When can “know” be used in respective past tense forms? |
1. Simple Past Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the simple past tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information has taken place in the past. |
2. Past Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the past continuous tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information was in the process of being taken place in the past. |
3. Past Perfect Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in past perfect tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information has completely taken place in the past. |
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in past perfect continuous tense the situation of being aware of something or certain information that has begun to take place in the past and continued to take place in the past. |
Examples of “know” are used in different past tense forms.
Types of Past Tense | Example Sentences | Explanations |
1. Simple Past Tense | Our entire team knew what the consequences of assembling a march like this would be back in the day but we were willing to take the risk. | The simple past tense form of the verb “knew” has been used here, which in this case is the past participle form as it is in the past tense. The verb is a way to showcase the action that the subject performs over the object of the sentence, which is quite evident from the example over here. |
2. Past Continuous Tense | Our entire team was knowing of what the consequences of assembling a march like this would be back in the day but we were willing to take the risk. | The auxiliary verb “was” presents itself as a signifier for the continued action that was taking place in the past in the given example scenario. That and the ‘-ing’ suffix added to the main verb consequently puts “was knowing” under the past continuous tense form. |
3. Past Perfect Tense | Our entire team had known what the consequences of assembling a march like this would be back in the day but we were willing to take the risk. | Now, in this sample sentence, the auxiliary verb ‘had’ showcases the past time and the ‘-ed’ suffix at the end of the verb makes it out to be in its past participle form, further signifying the completion of the action, thus making ‘had known’ a verb in the past perfect tense form. |
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Our entire team had been knowing what the consequences of assembling a march like this would be back in the day but we were willing to take the risk. | The past perfect continuous tense form of “had been knowing” is a mixture of two previously mentioned tense forms which can be noted by the ‘-ing’ at the end of the main verb that showcases its continuous function and the modal verb ‘been’ placed before it that signifies the completion of the action. |
Know in the future tense
There are multiple ways to showcase “know” in the future tense, especially with the help of modal verbs. Let us try to understand this further.
“Know” is employed in future tense with the help of modal verbs like ‘will’ and ‘shall’ when the awareness of certain information will take place during a time that is yet to come.
When can “know” be used in the future tense?
Different Forms of Future Tense | When can “know” be used in respective future tense forms? |
1. Simple Future Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in simple future tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information will take place in the future. |
2. Future Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the future continuous tense the situation of being aware of something or certain information will be in the process of taking place in the future. |
3. Future Perfect Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the future perfect tense when the situation of being aware of something or certain information will completely take place in the future. |
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | The verb “Know” usually operates in the future perfect continuous tense the situation of being aware of something or certain information will have begun to take place in the future and continue to take place in the future itself. |
Examples of “know” are used in different future tense forms.
Types of Future Tense | Example Sentences | Explanations |
1. Simple Future Tense | We will know of the election day results in a couple of days so we must just stay calm and sit tight. | The simple future tense form of the verb “will know” has been used here, which in this case uses the present participle of the verb. The verb is a way to showcase the action that the subject performs over the object of the sentence, which is quite evident from the example over here. The modal verb “will” makes any verb into its future tense form. |
2. Future Continuous Tense | We will be knowing of the election day results in a couple of days so we must just stay calm and sit tight. | The modal and auxiliary verbs “will be” present themselves as signifiers for the continued action that is to take place in the future in the given example scenario. That and the ‘-ing’ suffix added to the main verb consequently puts “will be knowing” under the future continuous tense form. |
3. Future Perfect Tense | We will have known of the election day results in a couple of days so we must just stay calm and sit tight. | Now, in this sample sentence, the auxiliary verb ‘have’ showcases a time in the future and the ‘-ed’ suffix at the end of the verb makes it out to be in its past participle form, further signifying the completion of the action, thus making ‘will have knew’ a verb in the future perfect tense form. |
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | We will have been knowing of the election day results in a couple of days so we must just stay calm and sit tight. | The future perfect continuous tense form of “will have been knowing” is a mixture of two previously mentioned tense forms which can be noted by the ‘-ing’ at the end of the main verb that showcases its continuous function and the modal verb ‘been’ placed before it that signifies the completion of the action. |
Conclusion
“Know” the verb functions readily under all tense and sub-tense forms and also has specific conjugational properties that come with those forms.
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