reference – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of reference

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to reference
Participle: referenced
Gerund: referencing

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ireference
youreference
he;she;itreferences
wereference
youreference
theyreference

Perfect

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

Past

Ireferenced
youreferenced
he;she;itreferenced
wereferenced
youreferenced
theyreferenced

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Subjunctive

Present

Ireference
youreference
he;she;itreference
wereference
youreference
theyreference

Perfect

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

Imperfect

Ireferenced
youreferenced
he;she;itreferenced
wereferenced
youreferenced
theyreferenced

Pluperfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

Imperative

youreference
weLet's reference
youreference

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

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

Perfect

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

Past

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

Pluperfect

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

Future

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

Future Perfect

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

Conditional

Present

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

Perfect

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

Other

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to speak of something in a brief or cursory manner; to make a short reference to something
bring up, mention, toss up, touch, touch on

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

From Middle French référence, from Medieval Latin referentia, nominative neuter plural of referēns, present participle of referō (“return, reply”, literally “carry back”). Morphologically refer + -ence.

Sample Sentences

  • You must thoroughly reference your paper before submitting it.
  • Reference the dictionary for word meanings.
  • The penchant for synthesizing the work of others that pervades British scholarship has been described by one of my cynical American colleagues as “a giant bibliography that is always eating its own tail.” By this he means that cliques of like-minded writers tend to reference each other’s work incessantly. [1990, Thomas L. Bell, “Political Economy's Response to Positivism”, in Geographical Review, volume 80, number 3, American Geographical Society, →JSTOR, page 314:]
  • Written information is a relatively new phenomenon. Depositing it and being able to reference it centuries later is not common human experience. [1994 September 26, Barry Chamish, quoting Louis Rossetto, “The End of the Book”, in The Atlantic:]
  • On the Florence Harding page, for instance, a researcher will be able to reference a book by Waarren Harding’s alleged mistress, Nan Britton, who claimed that she bore his daughter. [1998 January 26, Donnie Radcliffe, “New Library Will Chronicle First Ladies”, in The Washington Post, page C1+:]
  • In his speech, the candidate obliquely referenced the past failures of his opponent.
  • Humanities institutions specifically reference the work setting for illustrative applications of the unique and significant contributions of the Humanities. [1988, Integrating the Humanities into Associate Degree Occupational Programs, American Association of Community Colleges, →ISBN, page 25:]
  • With the economy characteristic of all African sculpture, these portraits reference individual and social identities simultaneously, so that the image of a king may represent a particular king and all kings; a commemorative mask for a woman, a particular woman and all titled women. [1990, Jean Borgatti, “Portraiture in Africa”, in African Arts, volume 23, number 3, page 37:]
  • And I would simply reference those of you who are out there working. [1991 January 19, Bobby Ray Inman, “A Nominee’s Withdrawal: Transcript of the Statement by Inman on His Decision to Withdraw”, in The New York Times, page A14:]
  • While Trump has not explicitly mentioned habeas corpus in public, it’s what he was referencing last month when he commented on steps he could take to combat nationwide injunctions against his actions on deportations, according to one of the people familiar with the talks. [2025 May 9, Kaitlan Collins, Samantha Waldenberg and Tierney Sneed, “Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say”, in CNN:]
  • The given pointer will reference the actual generated data.