Verbs (action words) denote actions by stating whether the actions are in the past, future or present tense. This article will detail the use of the verb “fight” in all tenses.
The verb “fight” means to take part in physical combat, to argue, to stop something from occurring, to try hard to achieve, to compete, to strive, and to disagree. With some inflections, “fight” can be used to denote the simple, perfect, perfect continuous and continuous forms of the present, future, and past tenses.
In this article, we will learn how the action word “fight” denotes the different tense forms.
“Fight” in present tense
When a verb is in the present tense, it denotes that the action is ongoing or frequent. We will study the present tense forms of the verb “fight” in this section.
The verb “fight” in the present tense, after experiencing a few grammatical inflections takes on forms such as “fight”, ‘fights’, ‘is/am/are fighting,’ ‘has/have fought,’ and ‘has/have been fighting.’
When is “fight” used in the present tense?
The verb “fight” in the present tense is used to show the regular or currently happening actions of taking part in physical combat, stopping something from happening, trying hard to achieve, competing, arguing, disagreeing, battling, or striving.
Sentence formation of “fight” in the present tense
| Forms Of Present Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | a. First/second person plural/singular Subject + fight+ object + last part of the sentence b. Third person singular subject + fights + object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + fight+ object + final part of sentence |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense | a. Singular first Person subject + am + fighting+ object+ remaining sentence b. Plural first person subject + are + fighting + object + rest of the sentence c. Singular/plural second person + are + fighting + object + remaining sentence d. Singular third person + is + fighting + remaining+ object + final part of the sentence e. Plural third person + are+ fighting + object + end of the sentence |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | a. Singular/plural first/second person subject + have + fought + object + sentence end b. Singular third person subject + has + fought + object + final part of the sentence c. Plural third person subject + have + fought+ object + remaining part of the sentence |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | a. Singular/plural first/second person subject + have + been + fighting + object + sentence end b. Singular third person subject + has + been + fighting + object + end of the sentence c. Plural third person subject + have + been + fighting+ object + sentence end |
Examples of “fight” in the present tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We/ You fight with my/our/your younger sister always. b. Ruhi fights with her younger sister always. c. Rachitha and Kanak fight with their younger sister always. | The verb “fight” and inflected forms ‘fights’ are utilized in the present simple tense in the given sentences. The usage of the simple present tense here shows that the subject’s action of having an argument or disagreement with the younger sister happen always (current action). |
| a. I am fighting thenew rules which are going to be implemented by the management. b. We are fighting thenew rules which are going to be implemented by the management. c. You are fighting thenew rules which are going to be implemented by the management. d. Lokesh is fighting thenew rules which are going to be implemented by the management. e. The workers are fighting thenew rules which are going to be implemented by the management. | Here, the letters ‘-ing’ is added to “fight” in orderto create the present continuous form, ‘fighting’. The usage of ‘am/is/are fighting’ marks the currently ongoing (happening at this moment now) action of the subject trying to stop the management’s implementation of the new rules |
| a. I/we have fought so long that I/we no longer have strength. b. You have fought so long that you no longer have strength. c. Neha has fought so long that she no longer has strength. d. They have fought so long that they no longer have strength. | ‘Fought’ is the past participle of the action word “fight”. “Fought” is utilized in the present perfect tense as ‘has/have fought’ along with has/have. The usage of present perfect tense represents that the subject’s action of trying hard or striving to stop something or achieve something has been happening for so long (from sometime in the past) that she no longer has strength now or in the present. |
| a. For three months, I/we have been fighting for an increase in pay scale. b. For three months, you have been fighting for an increase in pay scale. c. For three months, Sridhar has been fighting for an increase in pay scale. d. For three months, all the employees have been fighting for an increase in pay scale. | In the given examples, the base verb “fight” is utilized in the present perfect continuous as ‘has/have been fighting’. It indicates that the subject’s action of striving for getting an increase in pay scale began three months ago (past) and is still happening now (present). |
“Fight” in past tense
When a verb is in the past tense, it denotes that the action is already over or completed before now. We will study the past tense forms of the verb “fight” here.
The verb “fight” in the past tense, after undergoing some grammatical inflections has different forms such as ‘fought,’ ‘was/were fighting,’ ‘had fought,’ and ‘had been fighting.’
When is “fight” used in the past tense?
The verb “fight” in the past tense is used when representing the already happened or completed actions of trying hard to achieve, arguing, disagreeing, battling, and stopping something from happening, taking part in physical combat, or competing.
Sentence formation of “fight” in the past tense
| Forms Of Past Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | First/second/third person plural/singular Subject + fought + object + end of the sentence |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | a. First person singular subject + was+ fighting + object + remaining part of the sentence b. First person plural subject + were + fighting + object + remaining part of the sentence c. Second person plural/singular subject + were+ fighting+ object +final part of the sentence d. Third person singular subject + was + fighting + object + sentence end e. Third person plural subject + were + fighting + object + final part of the sentence |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + had + fought +object + sentence end |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + had + been + fighting + rest of the sentence |
Examples of “fight” in the past tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| I/We/You/She/They fought over choosing a topic for the debate. | The verb “fight” in this sentence, is used in the simple past tense form as ‘fought’. The usage of the action word ‘fought’, in the simple past tense shows that the subject’s action of arguing over choosing a topic for the debate is over sometime back in the past. |
| a. Back then, I was fighting against child labor and social inequality. b. Back then, we were fighting against child labor and social inequality. c. Back then, you were fighting against child labor and social inequality. d. Back then, Vaishnavi was fighting against child labor and social inequality. e. Back then, the members of the club were fighting against child labor and social inequality. | ‘Was/were fighting’, the past continuous form of the verb “fight” isformed by the addition of ‘-ing’ to the base action word. It’s usage denotes the subject’s action of trying to stop child labor and social inequality that was taking place back then (sometime in the past). |
| I/We/You/She/ They had fought to stop physical harassment even before management brought strict rules. | The past participle of the action word “fight” is ‘fought’ and it helps in creating the past perfect tense ‘had fought’. The usage of ‘had fought’ in this sentence conveys that the subject tried the best to stop physical harassment even before the management brought strict rules. |
| I/We/You/he/ They had been fighting for the nation until my/our/your/his/their last breath. | The verb “fight” in this example sentence is utilized in the past perfect continuous tense as ‘had been fighting’. It is used in past perfect continuous tense in order to subject’s action of battling for the nation until the last breath. |
“Fight” in future tense
When a verb is in the future tense, it indicates that the action is yet to happen and will happen after now. We will here learn the future tense forms of the verb “fight”.
The verb “fight” in the future tense has a number of forms such as ‘will/shall fight,’ ‘will/shall have fought,’ ‘will/shall be fighting,’ and ‘will/shall have been fighting.’
When is “fight” used in the future tense?
The verb “fight” in the future tense is used when representing the not yet occurred or yet-to-happen actions of arguing, battling, competing, trying hard to achieve, taking part in physical combat, or stopping something from occurring.
Sentence formation of “fight” in the future tense
| Forms of Future Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + fight + object + end of the sentence |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + be+ fighting + object + rest of the sentence |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + will + have+ fought + object + sentence end |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + have+ been + fighting + object + sentence end |
Examples of “fight” in the future tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| I/We/You/He/They will fight the injustice happening to the oppressed and the poor. | The simple future tense of the action word “fight”, ‘will fight’ is employed in this example to denote that the subject’s action of trying and striving to stop the injustice happening to the oppressed and the poor has not yet happened and will happen any time after the current moment. |
| I/We/You/She/ They will be fighting the best tennis players in the next match. | ‘Will be fighting’ is the future continuous tense form of the action word (verb) “fight” and it is used in this example to state that the subject’s action of competing withthe best tennis players has still not occurred and will be occurring in the next match (upcoming match) |
| By tomorrow, I/We/You/She/ They will have fought the worst fear of my/our/your/her/their life/lives. | ‘Will have fought” isthe future perfect form of the action word “fight”. It is utilized here in this sentence to indicate that the subject’s action of overcoming the worst fear of life will have taken place by tomorrow. |
| I/We/You//She/They will have been fighting against the new policies introduced by the management by this time in tomorrow’s meeting. | The future perfect continuous tense of the verb “fight” is ‘will have been fighting’ and it’d usage here denotes that the subject’s action of striving or battling against the management’s new policies will be taking place by this time in the meeting tomorrow (future – day after today). |
Conclusion
Thus, the usage of the action word “fight” in various tenses to communicate diverse meanings in various contexts and situations is explained in this article.
Hi… I am Sowndharya Jagadeeswaran, a university rank holder in M.A. English Literature. I have also done my master’s in Business Administration. Inquisitive as I am, my interest in action-oriented research helped me publish research papers in reputed journals. Now, as a career, I am an instructor where I teach young and adorable students the intricate technicalities of Public Speaking and Creative Writing. I also enjoy writing articles on topics I specialize and research in.
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