Depending on the verb tense, we can tell if an act is happening right now, in the future, or the past. This article will cover all three tenses of the verb “laugh” in all its forms.
The verb “laugh” means to make a sound in the mouth (to produce laughter) when something is funny, scornful, or silly and when someone is happy, joyful, or amused. Following inflections that denote past, present, and future tenses, the verb “laugh” takes on simple, continuous, perfect continuous, and perfect forms.
This article provides detailed descriptions of when, why, and how the verb “laugh” is utilized to convey the timing at which an action took place, takes place, or will take place.
“Laugh” in present tense
A current or ongoing activity, action, or state of being is implied by the present tense. Here, we will study how to use the verb “laugh” in all of its present tense forms.
In the present tense, the verb “laugh” can be represented in a range of ways, namely “laugh,” ‘laughs,’ ‘is/are/am laughing,’ ‘has/have laughed,’ and ‘has/have been laughing,’ respectively, in the simple present, present continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous forms.
When is “laugh” used in the present tense?
The verb “laugh” is used in the present tense when referring to presently or frequently occurring actions, like making a sound in the mouth (producing laughter) when something is scornful, silly, or funny and when someone is joyful, amused, or happy.
Examples of “laugh” in the present tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We always laugh out loud at Suman’s silly jokes. b. You always laugh out loud at Suman’s silly jokes. c. Kannika always laughs out loud at Suman’s silly jokes. d. The students always laugh out loud at Suman’s silly jokes. | These given examples utilize the verb “laugh” and its inflected form, ‘laughs’ (which adds an ‘s’ to the base verb), in the simple present tense. The use of “laugh” and ‘laughs’ signifies that the subject frequently or consistently makes the sound in the throat or mouth (produces laughter) at Suman’s silly jokes. |
| a. I am laughing at Kriti, who just fell from the chair while sleeping. b. We are laughing at Kriti, who just fell from the chair while sleeping. c. You are laughing at Kriti, who just fell from the chair while sleeping. d. Lekha is laughing at Kriti, who just fell from the chair while sleeping. e. They are laughing at Kriti, who just fell from the chair while sleeping. | The verb “laugh” is employed in these example sentences in the present continuous tense, as in ‘am/is/are laughing.’ The word “laugh” is given the suffix ‘-ing’ to create the present continuous form, indicating that the subject still (currently continuing) is producing laughter – a sound from the throat looking at Kriti who just fell from the chair while sleeping (happening even now). |
| a. Every time Rajesh told me/us a new idea, I/we have laughed at him. b. Every time Rajesh told you a new idea, you have laughed at him. c. Every time Rajesh told Neha a new idea, she has laughed at him. d. Every time Rajesh told them a new idea, they have laughed at him. | The present perfect verb forms of the action word “laugh” – ‘has laughed’ and ‘have laughed’ is employed in these examples to indicate that the subject has been producing laughter – making a sound with the mouth every time (had happened before in the past and is still happens till today) Rajesh told her/her/them a new idea. |
| a. Since Varsha cracked that silly joke, I/we have been laughing aloud nonstop. b. Since Varsha cracked that silly joke, you have been laughing aloud nonstop. c. Since Varsha cracked that silly joke, She has been laughing aloud nonstop. d. Since Varsha cracked that silly joke, they have been laughing aloud nonstop. | The action word “laugh” is being used in these examples sentences as ‘has/have been laughing’ in the present perfect continuous form. The use of the present perfect continuous form represents that the subject hasn’t stopped producing laughter (making a noise from the mouth) since (the time when) Varsha cracked that silly joke. The act of producing laughter by the subject began at the moment when Varsha cracked the joke (past) and is still happening in the moment (present). |
“Laugh” in past tense
A previous event, condition, or action is expressed in the past tense (happened prior to now). We will address all past tense forms of the verb “laugh” in this section.
The verb “laugh” in the past tense, after undergoing a couple of grammatical inflections, can take on a range of forms, including ‘laughed,’ ‘had laughed,’ ‘was/were laughing,’ and ‘had been laughing’ in the simple past, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous form respectively.
When is “laugh” used in the past tense?
The verb “laugh” in the past tense is utilized to refer to completed or already over activities (actions that happened or did take place before the current time – present), such as making a sound in the mouth (producing laughter) when someone is amused, joyful, or happy and when something is scornful, funny, or silly.
Examples of “laugh” in the past tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/we am/are angry at Mihika as she laughed at me/us when I/we lost the game yesterday. b. You are angry at Mihika as she laughed at you when you lost the game yesterday. c. They are angry at Mihika as she laughed at them when they lost the game yesterday. | By including the suffix ‘-ed,’ the verb “laugh” is employed as ‘laughed’ in these instances. As the subject lost the game yesterday, the action verb “laugh” is used here as ‘laughed’ in the past simple tense to denote that Mihika produced laughter – made a sound at the subject in a scornful manner yesterday (the day before today or previous day) |
| a. When Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period, I was laughing at him. b. When Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period, we were laughing at him. c. When Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period, you were laughing at him. d. When Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period, Keerthi was laughing at him. e. When Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period, all the students were laughing at him. | In these statements, the action word “laugh” is inflected with the suffix ‘-ing.’ The verb “laugh” becomes ‘was/were laughing’ in the past continuous tense. The past continuous tense is employed here to highlight that the subject was producing laughter (was continuing to make the sound from mouth) when Tarun was presenting his seminar in front of the class in the previous period (the period before). |
| a. I/We/You/She/ They had laughed at Viraj’s thoughts and ideas even before he started to explain them. | The past perfect tense, ‘had laughed,’ must be formed by joining the verb ‘had’ and the past participle ‘laughed’ of the source verb “laugh.” Here, the past perfect tense ‘had laughed’ suggests that the subject had scornfully produced laughter at Viraj’s thoughts and ideas even prior to explaining them. |
| a. I/We/You/She/They had been laughing at Suraj’s proposal when Suraj presented his ideas to me/us/you/her/them two years ago. | In this sentence, the verb form ‘had been laughing’ is in the past perfect continuous tense. Its use suggests that the subject was producing laughter (making fun) at Suraj’s proposal when he presented his ideas to her/him/them two years ago (thus the act of laughing started and ended 2 years ago in the past). |
“Laugh” in future tense
An event that will occur at any specific time in the future – after now is presented in the future tense. Here, we shall go into great detail on the several future tenses of “laugh.”
The future tense of the verb “laugh” can take on a variety of inflectional forms, such like ‘will/shall laugh,’ ‘will/shall have laughed,’ ‘will/shall be laughing,’ and ‘will/shall have been laughing.’
When is “laugh” used in the future tense?
The verb “laugh” in the future tense is used to denote events that haven’t yet taken place but will in the coming days, such as making a sound in the mouth (producing laughter) when someone is amused, happy, or joyful and when something is funny, silly, or scornful.
Examples of “laugh” in the future tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We/You/She/They will laugh when Suha says this funny incident to me/us/you/her/them. | The base verb “laugh” is used as ‘will laugh’ in this sentence. The subject in this example has not yet laughed (produced laughter) but will do when Suha says (which will happen any time after this moment) this funny incident to him/her/them. This is indicated by the use of the verb “laugh” in the simple future tense as ‘will laugh.’ |
| a. Unless I/we/you/they perform well in the annual day dance, everyone will be laughing at my/our/your/their performance. b. Unless Priyanka performs well in the annual day dance, everyone will be laughing at her performance. | In this case, the action word (verb) “laugh” is used in the future continuous tense form ‘will be laughing’ to demonstrate clearly how everyone will be making fun of the subject by producing laughter in the future if the subject does not perform well in the annual day dance (which is yet to happen). |
| a. I/We/You//he/They will have laughed nonstop after knowing that all this was a prank by now tomorrow. | In the future perfect tense, the action verb “laugh” becomes ‘will have laughed.’ Its use in this context indicates that the subject’s act of producing laughter due to amusement will not happen until this time tomorrow or that the subject will have produced laughter by now tomorrow (the following day– future) after knowing that all this was a prank. |
| a. I/We/You/He/They will have been laughing wholeheartedly when they get to know that Sudha was playing a prank on me/us/you/him/them. | The future perfect continuous form of the verb “laugh,” ‘will have been laughing,’ says that the subject will have been producing laughter when (a point in the future) the subject gets to know that Sudha was playing a prank on them. |
Conclusion
Thus, in order to convey different meanings in a number of situations, this article analyses how to portray the action word (verb) “laugh” across all forms of the three tenses – past, present, and future.
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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