owe – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of owe

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to owe
Participle: owed
Gerund: owing

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iowe
youowe
he;she;itowes
weowe
youowe
theyowe

Perfect

Ihave owed
youhave owed
he;she;ithas owed
wehave owed
youhave owed
theyhave owed

Past

Iowed
youowed
he;she;itowed
weowed
youowed
theyowed

Pluperfect

Ihad owed
youhad owed
he;she;ithad owed
wehad owed
youhad owed
theyhad owed

Future

Iwill owe
youwill owe
he;she;itwill owe
wewill owe
youwill owe
theywill owe

Future Perfect

Iwill have owed
youwill have owed
he;she;itwill have owed
wewill have owed
youwill have owed
theywill have owed

Subjunctive

Present

Iowe
youowe
he;she;itowe
weowe
youowe
theyowe

Perfect

Ihave owed
youhave owed
he;she;ithave owed
wehave owed
youhave owed
theyhave owed

Imperfect

Iowed
youowed
he;she;itowed
weowed
youowed
theyowed

Pluperfect

Ihad owed
youhad owed
he;she;ithad owed
wehad owed
youhad owed
theyhad owed

Conditional

Present

Iwould owe
youwould owe
he;she;itwould owe
wewould owe
youwould owe
theywould owe

Perfect

Iwould have owed
youwould have owed
he;she;itwould have owed
wewould have owed
youwould have owed
theywould have owed

Imperative

youowe
weLet's owe
youowe

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam owing
youare owing
he;she;itis owing
weare owing
youare owing
theyare owing

Perfect

Ihave been owing
youhave been owing
he;she;ithas been owing
wehave been owing
youhave been owing
theyhave been owing

Past

Iwas owing
youwere owing
he;she;itwas owing
wewere owing
youwere owing
theywere owing

Pluperfect

Ihad been owing
youhad been owing
he;she;ithad been owing
wehad been owing
youhad been owing
theyhad been owing

Future

Iwill be owing
youwill be owing
he;she;itwill be owing
wewill be owing
youwill be owing
theywill be owing

Future Perfect

Iwill have been owing
youwill have been owing
he;she;itwill have been owing
wewill have been owing
youwill have been owing
theywill have been owing

Conditional

Present

Iwould be owing
youwould be owing
he;she;itwould be owing
wewould be owing
youwould be owing
theywould be owing

Perfect

Iwould have been owing
youwould have been owing
he;she;itwould have been owing
wewould have been owing
youwould have been owing
theywould have been owing

Other

Verbs similar to 'owe'

awe, bowe, mowe, one, ope, owl, own, wowe, ace, age,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. O.E. agan (pt. ahte) "to have, own," from P.Gmc. *aiganan "to possess" (cf. O.Fris. aga, O.N. eiga, O.H.G. eigan, Goth. aigan "to possess, have"), from PIE *aik- "to be master of, possess" (cf. Skt. ise "he owns," isah "owner, lord, ruler;" Avestan is- "riches," isvan- "well-off, rich"). Sense of "to have to repay" began in late O.E. with the phrase agan to geldanne lit. "to own to yield," which was used to translate L. debere (earlier in O.E. this would have been sceal "shall"); by c.1175 the phrase had been shortened to simply agan, and own (v.) took over this word's original sense. An original Gmc. preterite-present verb (cf. can, dare, may, etc.). New past tense form owed arose 15c. to replace oughte, which developed into ought (1).
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ-
4. Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂óyḱe
5. Proto-Germanic *aiganą
6. Proto-West Germanic *aigan
7. Old English āgan
8. Middle English owen
9. English owe
10. From Middle English owen, from Old English āgan, from Proto-West Germanic *aigan (“to own”), from Proto-Germanic *aiganą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₂óyḱe (“to possess, own”), reduplicated stative of *h₂eyḱ- (“to own”). See also own, ought.
11. Cognate with Sanskrit ईष्टे (īṣṭe, “to own, possess”). See: Middle English 'owen', Proto-Germanic '*aiganą', Proto-Indo-European '*h₂eh₂óyḱe', Sanskrit 'ईष्टे'.

Verbs referencing "owe"

Danish eje, Norwegian eie.

Sample Sentences

  • It was now early spring, and the river was swollen and turbulent; great cakes of floating ice were swinging heavily to and fro in the turbid waters. Owing to the peculiar form of the shore on the Kentucky side, the land bending far out into the water, the ice had been lodged and detained in great quantities, and the narrow channel which swept round [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Because he _was_ a kind master; I'll say that of him, any way; — and my mistress was kind; but they couldn't help themselves. They were owing money; and there was some way, I can't tell how, that a man had a hold on them, and they were obliged to give him his will. I listened, and heard him telling mistress that, and she begging and [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] “ don't see no marcy in ’ t ! ’ tan't right ! tan't right it should be so ! Mas’r never ought ter left it so that ye _could_ be took for his debts. Ye 've arnt him all he gets for ye, twice over. He owed ye yer freedom, and ought ter gin ’ t to yer years ago. Mebbe he can't help himself now, but I feel it's wrong. Nothing can't beat that ar out o ’ me. Sich a faithful crittur as ye 've been,—and [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Owing to Mr. Adolph's systematic arrangements, when St. Clare turned round from paying the hackman, there was nobody in view but Mr. Adolph himself, conspicuous in satin vest, gold guard-chain, and white [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] everywhere and every way. But it's no use to complain to St. Clare. He talks the strangest stuff. He says we have made them what they are, and ought to bear with them. He says their faults are all owing to us, and that it would be cruel to make the fault and punish it too. He says we shouldn't do any better, in their place; just as if one could reason from them to us, you know. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] Truth be spoken, and let us not, like dastards, beat about the bush by hinting at the Spaniard and the fierce Italian. When knives are drawn by Englishmen in conflict let it be said and known: ‘We owe this change to Republican Slavery. These are the weapons of Freedom. With sharp points and edges such as these, Liberty in America hews and hacks her slaves; or, failing that pursuit, her sons [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ But, at least, ” said Mrs. Shelby, “ could not you give me some little insight into yours; a list of all your debts, at least, and of all that is owed to you, and let me try and see if I can't help you to economize. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see UNCLE TOM 'S CABIN; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • What do you owe to these poor unfortunates, oh Christians ? Does not every American Christian owe to the African race some effort at reparation for the wrongs that the American nation has brought upon them ? [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • What do you owe to these poor unfortunates, oh Christians ? Does not every American Christian owe to the African race some effort at reparation for the wrongs that the American nation has brought upon them ? Shall the doors of churches and school-houses be shut upon them ? Shall states arise and [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • I'm--I 'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Also, you owe me two months of rent. (Mile End Kicks)
  • I probably owe her a marathon. OK, well, do you want to talk about the Admissions Council ? (Home Turf)