Present, past, and future tense show actions that are over before now, happening now, and will occur after now. This article will tell the usage of “decide” in all tense forms.
The verb “decide” means to choose, to come to a conclusion or judgment, to resolve, and to settle after careful thinking. The verb “decide” is utilized in the future, present, and past tenses in all their forms – simple, perfect, perfect continuous, and continuous by going through a few grammatical inflections.
With the help of going through the structures of each form in the three different tenses along with examples, we will learn in this article the usage of “choose” in all the forms of tenses.
“Decide” in present tense
When an action is happening at this moment, it is represented using the various present tense forms. Here, we will find out the usage of “decide” in the present tense.
The verb “decide” in the present tense takes up various forms such as ‘decide,’ ‘decides,’ ‘is deciding,’ ‘has/have decided,’ and ‘has/have been deciding’.
Example: It is high time you decide on your path of career.
In the above-given example, the verb “decide” is utilized in the simple present tense without undergoing any inflections as it represents the action of choosing the career path, which is happening at the current present moment.
When is “decide” used in the present tense?
The verb “decide” in the present tense denotes the actions of choosing, coming to a conclusion or judgment, settling, or resolving after carefully thinking that is taking place at this moment.
Sentence formation of “decide” in the present tense
| Forms Of Present Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Present Tense | a. First/second person plural/singular Subject + decide + object + sentence end b. Third person singular subject + decides + object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + decide+ object + final part of the sentence |
| 2. Present Continuous Tense | a. Singular first Person subject + am + deciding + object+ last part of the sentence b. Plural first person subject + are + deciding + object + end of the sentence c. Singular/plural second person + are + deciding + object + remaining sentence d. Singular third person + is + deciding +object + end of the sentence e. Plural third person + are+ deciding + object + sentence end |
| 3. Present Perfect Tense | a. Singular/plural first /second person subject + have + decided+ object + the sentence b. Singular third person subject + has + decided + object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + have + decided+ object + end of the sentence |
| 4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense | a. Singular/plural first/second person subject + have + been + deciding + object + remaining sentence b. Singular third person subject + has + been + deciding + object + sentence end c. Plural third person subject + have + been + deciding + object + sentence end |
Examples of “decide” in the present tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We/ You decide to continue working on this project. b. Sudha decides to continue working on this project. c. The team members decide to continue working on this project. | The verb “decide” is utilized in the present simple tense to mark a current action when the subject chooses to continue working on this project. |
| a. I am deciding to keep this a secret forever. b. We are deciding to keep this a secret forever. c. You are deciding to keep this a secret forever. d. Malvika is deciding to keep this a secret forever. e. The siblings are deciding to keep this a secret forever. | Here, the verb “decide”, is in the present continuous form, ‘deciding’ to mark the ongoing (happening now) act of the subject who is still choosing or thinking to keep this a secret forever |
| a. I/we/you have decided not to forgive him for all that he has done. b. Tarun has decided not to forgive him for all that he has done. c. The friends have decided not to forgive him for all that he has done. | The verb ‘has/have decided’ is the present perfect tense form of “decide” to mark the past action of the subject coming to a conclusion not to forgive ‘him’ but still in the present has its effect. |
| a. I/We have been deciding on the décor for the main bedroom for nearly a month. b. You have been deciding on the décor for the main bedroom for nearly a month. c. Sachitha has been deciding on the décor for the main bedroom for nearly a month. d. The kids have been deciding on the décor for the main bedroom for nearly a month. | In these examples, the verb “decide” is utilized as ‘has/have been deciding’ in the present perfect continuous to show that the action of choosing or selecting the décor for the main bedroom began a month before but is still continuing to take until now (present). |
“Decide” in past tense
When an action is completed or over before, it is denoted using the various past tense forms. Here, we will get to know the usage of “decide” in the past tense.
The verb “decide” in past tense has various forms, namely ‘decided,’ ‘was/were deciding,’ ‘had decided,’ and ‘had been deciding.’
Example: Piyali decided where to go during the summer vacation.
The verb “decide” is used in the simple past tense as ‘decided’ in the above example. The usage of ‘decided’ shows that the action of selecting or choosing the location is already over or done by Piyali.
When is “decide” used in the past tense?
The verb “decide” in the past tense forms are utilized to represent the already completed activities of selecting, choosing, coming to a conclusion or judgment, resolving, or settling after careful consideration of all possibilities.
Sentence formation of “decide” in the past tense
| Forms Of Past Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Past Tense | First/second/third person plural/singular Subject + decided + object + remaining sentence |
| 2. Past Continuous Tense | a. First person singular subject + was+ deciding + object + end of the sentence b. First person plural subject + were + deciding + object + remaining sentence c. Second person plural/singular subject + were+ deciding + object + sentence end d. Third person singular subject + was + deciding+ object + sentence end e. Third person plural subject + were + deciding + object + end of the sentence |
| 3. Past Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + had + decided +object + rest of the sentence |
| 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + had + been + deciding + sentence end |
Examples of “decide” in the past tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| I/We/You/he/They decided to take this matter to the higher officials. | In this example, ‘decided’ is the simple past tense of “choose”. It shows that the action of coming to a conclusion of taking this matter to higher officials by the speaker/ speakers is already taken or happened. |
| a. I was deciding on the topic when he suggested me this one. b. We were deciding on the topic when he suggested us this one. c. You were deciding on the topic when he suggested you this one. d. Vikranth was deciding on the topic when he suggested him this one. e. The teachers were deciding on the topic when he suggested them this one. | ‘Was/were deciding’ is the past continuous form of the verb “decide” and it is utilized in these examples to mark the past action of the subject choosing or selecting the topic when ‘he’ suggested this topic. |
| I/We/You/He/They had decided not to have any ties with that person even before anyone told me/us/you/him/them. | ‘Decided’ is the past participle of the verb form “decide” and hence ‘had decided’ is the past perfect tense. The usage of the past perfect tense marks that the subject had already chosen or come to a conclusion even before anyone told. |
| I/We/You/She/They had been deciding whether to accompany Sheetal until the last moment. | The verb “decide” is employed in its past perfect continuous tense, ‘had been deciding’ to show that the subject had been thinking carefully or choosing whether to accompany Sheetal till the last moment (sometime in the past). |
“Decide” in future tense
When an action has not happened till now and is yet to happen, it is denoted using the various future tense forms. Here, we will learn the usage of “decide” in the present tense.
The verb “decide” in future tense takes up forms, such as ‘will/shall decide,’ ‘will/shall have decided,’ ‘will/shall be deciding,’ and ‘will/shall have been deciding’.
Example: The management will decide the date for the investiture ceremony.
‘Will decide’ is the future tense of the verb “decide” and it is employed in this example to show that the action of selecting or choosing the date for the investiture ceremony is yet to happen or take place.
When is “decide” used in the future tense?
The verb “decide” in the future tense is employed to show the actions of finalizing, selecting, choosing, resolving, or settling that will happen or occur anytime from now.
Sentence formation of “decide” in the future tense
| Forms of Future Tense | Structures |
| 1. Simple Future Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + decide+ object + end of the sentence |
| 2. Future Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + be+ deciding + object +final part of the sentence |
| 3. Future Perfect Tense | First/second/third singular/plural subject + will + have+ decided+ object + remaining part of the sentence |
| 4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense | First/second/third plural/singular subject + will + have+ been + deciding + object + sentence end |
Examples of “decide” in the future tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| I/We/You/he/They will decide on the chapters for tomorrow’s class test. | The simple future tense of the verb “decide” is ‘will decide’ and it is used in this sentence to convey that the action of choosing the chapters for the class tomorrow is yet to be done by the subject and will be done any time after now. |
| I/We/You/She/ They will be deciding how to raise funds in the next few months. | ‘Will be deciding’, is the future continuous form of the base verb “decide” and it is used to mark the action of coming to a conclusion of how to raise funds which will be happening in the next few months (future months). |
| By this time, I/We/You/He/ They will have decided how to solve the issue next week. | Usage of ‘will have decided’, the future perfect form of the action word “decide” shows that the action of finalizing how to solve the issue will happen by this specific time (present) next week (future). |
| I/We/You/He/They will have been deciding the CEO of the company in upcoming years. | ‘Will have been deciding’ is the future perfect continuous tense of the action word “decide”. The future continuous tense is utilized to mark the act of the subject to select or finalize the CEO of the company by the subject that is yet to take place and will be happening in the upcoming years (future years). |
Conclusion
Thus, this article makes us clearly understand the grammatical inflection the action word (verb) “decide” undergoes to represent the various tenses (the time of occurrence of the action or activity).
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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