Regular verb
The verb to believe
believe → believed → believed
A2Meaning: to think that something is true · Type: regular · Frequency: Top 50 English verbs
Key points to remember
- Present Simple:
believe / believes - Past Simple:
believed - Past participle:
believed - -ing form:
believing
Conjugation of the verb to believe
Present Simple
| I | believe |
| You | believe |
| He / She / It | believes |
| We | believe |
| You (pl.) | believe |
| They | believe |
Past Simple
| I | believed |
| You | believed |
| He / She / It | believed |
| We | believed |
| You (pl.) | believed |
| They | believed |
All the forms of the verb to believe
Present Simple
Full pagebelieve / believes
“I believe in you.”
See the pagePresent Continuous
Full pageam / is / are believing
“I believe the story (not I am believing the story).”
See the pagePast Simple
Full pagebelieved
“I believed her story.”
See the pagePast Continuous
Full pagewas / were believing
“I believed the story (not I was believing the story).”
See the pagePresent Perfect
Full pagehave / has believed
“I have always believed the story.”
See the pagePast Perfect
Full pagehad believed
“I had never believed the story before that day.”
See the pageFuture Simple
Full pagewill believe
“I will believe the story tomorrow.”
See the pageGoing to Future
Full pageam / is / are going to believe
“I'm going to believe the story this weekend.”
See the pageConditional (would)
Full pagewould believe
“I would believe the story if it were true.”
See the pageHow to use to believe
1. Believing what someone says
- I believe you.
2. Believe in
Believe in = to have faith or trust in someone or something.
- I believe in you.
A common mistake
1. My believes ❌
The noun is spelt with an f: belief, plural beliefs. Believes is the verb: she believes. So write my beliefs.
Going further
Conjugating to believe is a key skill in the English contest
Every year, the Big Challenge tests the key English verbs. Register your students so they can check their level in a real contest.
Register my students5,000 students every year · Primary and secondary
Practise on PLAYYou can conjugate to believe. Now say it out loud.
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For teachersReady-made activities to practise to believe in class
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Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple of believe?+
The Past Simple of believe is believed. It is a regular verb: believe → believed → believed.
What is the difference between believe and believe in?+
Believe someone = to think that what they say is true: I believe you. Believe in someone or something = to have faith or trust in them: I believe in God. I believe in you means I'm sure you can do it.
Is it beliefs or believes?+
Beliefs is a noun: the plural of belief (an idea you think is true). Believes is the verb after he, she or it. She has strong personal beliefs. He believes me. This difference is very important.
What does make-believe mean?+
Make-believe means imaginary, not real, often in children's games. A make-believe world is an imaginary world. Let's play make-believe! means let's play a game where we pretend.
What does I can't believe it mean?+
I can't believe it! shows great surprise, about good or bad news. You can also say Unbelievable! or No way!
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/believe
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.