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ENGLISH VERB

push back

to postpone, to move to a later time

  • Regular verb
  • Gerund: pushing back
  • Past participle: pushed back

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Simple present · now, habits and facts

  1. I I postpone
  2. you you postpone
  3. he, she, it he postpones
  4. we we postpone
  5. they they postpone

Past

Simple past · finished actions

  1. I I postponed
  2. you you postponed
  3. he, she, it he postponed
  4. we we postpone
  5. they they postponed

Future

Future · “will”

  1. I I will postpone
  2. you you will postpone
  3. he, she, it he will postpone
  4. we we will postpone
  5. they they will postpone

Present continuous

Present continuous · happening right now

  1. I I am postponing
  2. you you are postponing
  3. he, she, it he is postponing
  4. we we are postponing
  5. they they are postponing

Present perfect

Present perfect · “have done”

  1. I I have already postponed
  2. you you have already postponed
  3. he, she, it he has already postponed
  4. we we have already postponed
  5. they they have already postponed

Conditional

Conditional · “would”

  1. I I would postpone
  2. you you would postpone
  3. he, she, it he would postpone
  4. we we would postpone
  5. they they would postpone

Imperative

Imperative · requests and orders

  1. Postpone!

How to use push back

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    My dentist pushes back my appointment every time.

    My dentist always moves my appointment to a later time.

  2. Past

    We pushed back the launch to October.

    We moved the launch to October.

  3. Future

    I will push back our dinner by half an hour.

    I'll move our dinner half an hour later.

  4. Present continuous

    They are pushing back the deadline again.

    They're postponing the deadline again.

  5. Present perfect

    The airline has pushed back the departure to nine.

    The airline moved the departure to nine.

  6. Conditional

    I would push back the meeting, not cancel it.

    I would postpone the meeting; I wouldn't cancel it.

  7. Imperative

    Push back the call, I'm stuck in traffic.

    Put the call off until later — I'm stuck in traffic.

Good to know

  • "Push back" is informal: "push the meeting back an hour".
  • It also means to react, to resist: "the staff pushed back on the new rules".

Where you hear push back

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

English for Brazilians · Intermediate Level 3

  • The late tables push the show back. The late tables push the show back.
  • We pushed the show back to six-thirty. We pushed the show back to six-thirty.
  • If the line is long, we'll push the circle back. If the line is long, we'll push the circle back.
9
We need to postpone part of it

Intermediate Level 3 · push the show back

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular verb.