Various tense forms of a verb express whether the action occurs in the present, in the past, or in the future. Here the different tense forms of “own” will be explained.
“Own” implies to possess something legally, to have political dominion over the land, to defeat someone, to acknowledge or take responsibility for something, to admit or confess. The various forms of “own” are marked with several conjugations in indefinite, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous tenses.
The article shows that the functions of the verb “own” depend on the time of action that took place, is taking place, or is yet to take place.
“Own” in present tense
A form of present tense simply suggests that the action is taking place right now or it takes place regularly. Here we will discuss various present forms of “own.”
The forms of the verb “own” in the present indefinite, present continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous tenses respectively are, ‘own/owns,’ ‘am/is/are owning,’ and ‘have/has owned,’ ‘have/has been owning,’.
When is “own” used in the present tense?
The verb “own” is exercised in the present tense to denote the actions of possessing something rightfully or acquiring something, defeating or enslaving someone, which occurs routinely or continues in the present moment.
Examples of “own” in the present tense
| Examples | Explanations |
|---|---|
| a. I/We own a huge mansion in Lucknow. b. Ritesh owns a huge mansion in Lucknow | These instances in a simple present tense show the root verb “own” and the inflected form, “owns” (by adding an ‘s’ to the root verb) which has been used as per the subject-verb agreement. The verb forms “own” and ‘owns’ denote that the subject continues to have a righteous possession of the mansion. (Expresses a regular action) |
| a. Mr. Stuart is owning a multinational company. b. The young entrepreneurs are owning a multinational company. | These examples in a present continuous or present progressive tense display that the root verb “own” appears here as am/is/are owning as per the subject-verb agreement. The suffix ‘-ing’ denotes the present continuous form which indicates that the subject is at present having legal possession of a multination company (happening at this very present moment) |
| a. The soldiers have owned the enemies. b. The king has owned his enemies. | The past participle form of the verb “own” is “owned”. In the present perfect tense, the forms ‘has/have owned’ clearly exemplify that the subject has defeated their/his enemies to embarrassment. The present perfect tense shows that the action of defeating the enemies started in the past and continues to take place in the present. |
| a. I/we have been owning this property since 1999. b. Rajen has been owning this property since 1999. | The root verb “own” in the present perfect continuous form, has appeared as ‘has/have been owning.’ Here, the subject possesses the property rightfully since 1999 (denoting the point of time). The act of possession of property by the subject began in 1999 and is still in progress. |
“Own” in past tense
A form of tense that depicts the action which already took place in the past or it was taking place. Here, we will discuss various past forms of “own.”
The forms of the verb “own” in past indefinite, past progressive or continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous, respectively are, ‘owned,’ ‘was/were owning,’ and ‘had owned,’ ‘had been owning‘.
When is “own” used in the past tense?
The verb “own” is applied in the past tense to represent the actions of possessing something rightfully or acquiring something, having righteous political dominion, or defeating, or enslaving someone, which happened in the past or continued in the past.
Examples of “own” in the past tense
| Examples | Explanations |
|---|---|
| a. I/We owned a huge mansion in Lucknow. b. Ritesh owned a huge mansion in Lucknow. | These examples in a simple past tense show that the root verb “own” and its inflected form, “owned” (by adding ‘ed’ to the root verb) have been used as per the subject-verb agreement. The verb form “owned” denotes that the subject in the past had righteous possession of the mansion. |
| a. Mr. Stuart was owning a multinational company. b. The young entrepreneurs were owning a multinational company. | These instances in a past continuous or past progressive tense display that the root verb “own” is used here as was/were owning as per the subject-verb agreement. The suffix ‘-ing’ expresses the past continuous form which indicates that the subject continued having legal possession of a multination company (the act was taking place continuously in the past). |
| a. The soldiers had owned the enemies. | In past perfect tense, the form ‘had owned’ clearly displays that subject has defeated their enemies to embarrassment. The past perfect tense is used to show that the act of defeating the enemies to embarrassment is already completed or over. |
| a. Rajen had been owning this property since 1999. | The root verb “own” in the past perfect continuous form, has been exercised as ‘had been owning.’ Here, the subject continued to have the property rightfully since 1999 (denoting the point of time). The act of possession of property by the subject began in 1999 and was continuing for a stipulated time frame in the past. |
“Own” in future tense
A form of tense that signifies the action which is yet to take place, or will be taking place in the upcoming time. Here, we will see various forms of “own” in the future tense.
The verb “own” in the future tense incorporates myriad forms such as ‘will own,’ ‘will be owning,’ ‘will have owned,’ and ‘will have been owning’ in the future indefinite, future continuous/ future progressive, future perfect, and future perfect continuous tenses respectively.
When is “own” used in the future tense?
The verb “own” is used in the future tense to represent the actions of possessing something rightfully or acquiring something, having righteous political dominion, or defeating, or enslaving someone, which has not happened yet but will occur in the future or upcoming time.
Examples of “own” in the future tense
| Examples | Explanations |
|---|---|
| a. Ritesh will own a huge mansion in Lucknow. | This example in future indefinite tense projects that the root verb “own” is exercised as “shall/will own” as per the subject-verb agreement. The form suggests that the subject is yet to have righteous possession of the mansion. |
| b. Mr. Stuart will be owning a multinational company. | This reference in a future continuous or future progressive tense points out that the root verb “own” is applied here as shall/will be owning, as per the subject-verb agreement. The formation indicates that the subject will acquire legal possession of a multinational company in the future. |
| c. The soldiers will have owned the enemies by the next day. | The future perfect form of the verb ‘will have owned’ clearly projects that subject will defeat their enemies to embarrassment by the next day. The future perfect tense is exercised to show that the act of defeating the enemies to embarrassment will be completed or over by the next day. (Clear time frame for finishing an act) |
| d. Rajen will have been owning this property for fifty years. | In the future perfect continuous form, the verb “own” has been framed as ‘will have been owning’—Here, the subject emphasizes the time span of owning or possessing the property rightfully. The act of acquiring the property will continue for fifty years. |
Conclusion
Own as a doing word encompasses ample denotations. The article covers a wide range of utilizations and forms of the verb “own” in different contexts of three tense forms- past, present, and future.
Hello…I am Kamalika Nag, an assistant teacher and Subject Matter Expert by profession. I have done my post-graduation in English Literature. To comply with all the norms and knowledge to be a teacher, I also completed a Bachelor of Education (B.ed). I have 8 years of experience in teaching literature. My purpose here is to deliver my expertise in a cogent and comprehensive approach to all the readers. Being a vivid learner and a passionate teacher, I love to do experiments with new approaches to learning. I’m more than glad to be part of such an amazing community.
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