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ENGLISH VERB

refer to

refer to

  • Irregular verb
  • Gerund: referring to
  • Past participle: referred to

Conjugation

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

Present

Simple present · now, habits and facts

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

Past

Simple past · finished actions

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

Future

Future · “will”

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

Present continuous

Present continuous · happening right now

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

Present perfect

Present perfect · “have done”

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

Conditional

Conditional · “would”

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

Imperative

Imperative · requests and orders

How to use refer to

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

  1. Present

    When she says "the boss", she refers to Mark.

    When she says "the boss", she's referring to Mark.

  2. Past

    The article referred to a study from 2020.

    The article referred to a 2020 study.

  3. Future

    I will refer to your notes during the talk.

    I'll refer to your notes during the lecture.

  4. Present continuous

    Which report are you referring to?

    Which report are you referring to?

  5. Present perfect

    He has referred to that trip many times.

    He has already referred to that trip many times.

  6. Conditional

    I would refer to him as "Doctor Silva".

    I would refer to him as "Dr. Silva".

  7. Imperative

    Refer to page ten for the full list.

    See page ten for the complete list.

Good to know

  • Double the r: "referred", "referring".
  • "Refer to" also means consult: "refer to the manual".

Where you hear refer to

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

English for Brazilians · Intermediate Level 2

  • The email refers to every branch. The email refers to every branch.
  • I was referring to the bus stop. I was referring to the bus stop.
  • In the episode, we'll refer to you as Helen. In the episode, we'll refer to you as Helen.
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The clip needs context

Intermediate Level 2 · what she was referring to

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Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: irregular verb.