sell – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of sell

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to sell sth off
Participle: sold sth off
Gerund: selling sth off

Cognates

See the 5 cognates of sell

Indicative

Present

Isell sth off
yousell sth off
he;she;itsells sth off
wesell sth off
yousell sth off
theysell sth off

Perfect

Ihave sold sth off
youhave sold sth off
he;she;ithas sold sth off
wehave sold sth off
youhave sold sth off
theyhave sold sth off

Past

Isold sth off
yousold sth off
he;she;itsold sth off
wesold sth off
yousold sth off
theysold sth off

Pluperfect

Ihad sold sth off
youhad sold sth off
he;she;ithad sold sth off
wehad sold sth off
youhad sold sth off
theyhad sold sth off

Future

Iwill sell sth off
youwill sell sth off
he;she;itwill sell sth off
wewill sell sth off
youwill sell sth off
theywill sell sth off

Future Perfect

Iwill have sold sth off
youwill have sold sth off
he;she;itwill have sold sth off
wewill have sold sth off
youwill have sold sth off
theywill have sold sth off

Subjunctive

Present

Isell sth off
yousell sth off
he;she;itsell sth off
wesell sth off
yousell sth off
theysell sth off

Perfect

Ihave sold sth off
youhave sold sth off
he;she;ithave sold sth off
wehave sold sth off
youhave sold sth off
theyhave sold sth off

Imperfect

Isold sth off
yousold sth off
he;she;itsold sth off
wesold sth off
yousold sth off
theysold sth off

Pluperfect

Ihad sold sth off
youhad sold sth off
he;she;ithad sold sth off
wehad sold sth off
youhad sold sth off
theyhad sold sth off

Conditional

Present

Iwould sell sth off
youwould sell sth off
he;she;itwould sell sth off
wewould sell sth off
youwould sell sth off
theywould sell sth off

Perfect

Iwould have sold sth off
youwould have sold sth off
he;she;itwould have sold sth off
wewould have sold sth off
youwould have sold sth off
theywould have sold sth off

Imperative

yousell sth off
weLet's sell sth off
yousell sth off

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam selling sth off
youare selling sth off
he;she;itis selling sth off
weare selling sth off
youare selling sth off
theyare selling sth off

Perfect

Ihave been selling sth off
youhave been selling sth off
he;she;ithas been selling sth off
wehave been selling sth off
youhave been selling sth off
theyhave been selling sth off

Past

Iwas selling sth off
youwere selling sth off
he;she;itwas selling sth off
wewere selling sth off
youwere selling sth off
theywere selling sth off

Pluperfect

Ihad been selling sth off
youhad been selling sth off
he;she;ithad been selling sth off
wehad been selling sth off
youhad been selling sth off
theyhad been selling sth off

Future

Iwill be selling sth off
youwill be selling sth off
he;she;itwill be selling sth off
wewill be selling sth off
youwill be selling sth off
theywill be selling sth off

Future Perfect

Iwill have been selling sth off
youwill have been selling sth off
he;she;itwill have been selling sth off
wewill have been selling sth off
youwill have been selling sth off
theywill have been selling sth off

Conditional

Present

Iwould be selling sth off
youwould be selling sth off
he;she;itwould be selling sth off
wewould be selling sth off
youwould be selling sth off
theywould be selling sth off

Perfect

Iwould have been selling sth off
youwould have been selling sth off
he;she;itwould have been selling sth off
wewould have been selling sth off
youwould have been selling sth off
theywould have been selling sth off

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'sell'

foretell, resell, retell, sell, tell, undersell, betell, cross-sell, forthtell, mis-sell, missell, no-sell, onsell, overtell, presell, pretell, short-sell, supersell, unsell, untell, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'sell'

bell, cell, fell, hell, jell, mell, pell, seal, seel, self,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to provide goods or services in exchange for money
cheap, hawk, monger, peddle, retail, vend
to make an agreement, deal or contract
agree, bargain, come to terms, contract, covenant, deal, do business, engage, guarantee, make terms, negotiate, promise, stipulate, trade
exchange
barter, trade, bargain, retail, vend, peddle, auction, market
betray
deceive, violate, fail, disappoint

Antonyms

obtain (something) in exchange for money
buy, vend
to gain possession of something
get rid of, give, lose, receive, unacquire, unget
to exchange goods or services without involving money
buy, barter
to receive goods or services in exchange for money
barter, pay, steal, buy
to provide goods or services in exchange for money
barter, buy
to give (something) to somebody temporarily, expecting it to be returned
borrow, lend
betray
protect, safeguard, cherish, foster

Additional Information

Cf. Old English sellan (sell) and tellan (tell).

Etymology

1. O.E. sellan "to give," from P.Gmc. *saljanan (cf. O.N. selja "to hand over, deliver, sell;" O.Fris. sella, O.H.G. sellen "to give, hand over, sell;" Goth. saljan "to offer a sacrifice"), perhaps a causative form of the root of O.E. sala "sale." One of the first things a student of Old English has to learn is that the word that looks like sell usually means "give." Meaning "to give up for money" had emerged by c.1000. Slang meaning "to swindle" is from 1597. The noun phrase hard sell is recorded from 1952. To sell one's soul is from c.1570. Sell-by date is from 1972. To sell (someone) down the river is first recorded 1927, but probably from slavery days, on notion of sale from the Upper South to the cotton plantations of the Deep South (attested in this literal sense since 1851). To sell like hot cakes is from 1839.
2. From Middle English sellen, from Old English sellan (“give; give up for money”), from Proto-West Germanic *salljan, from Proto-Germanic *saljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *selh₁-.
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Scots sell (“to sell”), Danish sælge (“to sell”), Norwegian Bokmål selge (“to sell”), Norwegian Nynorsk selja, selje (“to sell”), Swedish sälja (“to sell”), Faroese and Icelandic selja (“to sell”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (saljan, “to pay tribute, make an offer”). See: Middle English 'sellen', Old English 'sellan', Proto-Germanic '*saljaną', Scots 'sell', Danish 'sælge', Norwegian 'selge', Norwegian, nynorsk 'selja', Swedish 'sälja'.

Verbs referencing "sell"

Sranan seri, Tok Pisin salim, Latin consulo, Finnish with old forms sallia, Danish sælge.

Sample Sentences

  • “ Mr. Haley, she is not to be sold, ” said Shelby. “ My wife would not part with her for her weight in gold. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ I would rather not sell him, ” said Mr. Shelby, thoughtfully; “ the fact is, sir, I 'm a humane man, and I hate to take the boy from his mother, sir. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] the feelings; but I never found it so. Fact is, I never could do things up the way some fellers manage the business. I 've seen ’ em as would pull a woman's child out of her arms, and set him up to sell, and she screechin ’ like mad all the time; — very bad policy—damages the article—makes ’ em quite unfit for service sometimes. I knew a real handsome gal once, in Orleans, as was entirely ruined by [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] down the steps, ” said he to himself, as he saw the door fairly closed, “ with his impudent assurance; but he knows how much he has me at advantage. If anybody had ever said to me that I should sell Tom down south to one of those rascally traders, I should have said, ’ Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing ? ’ And now it must come, for aught I see. And Eliza's child, too ! I know [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ O, missis, _do_ you suppose mas’r would sell my Harry ? ” And the poor creature threw herself into a chair, and sobbed convulsively. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Well, but, missis, _you_ never would give your consent—to—to — ” “ Nonsense, child ! to be sure, I should n't. What do you talk so for ? I would as soon have one of my own children sold. But really, Eliza, you are getting altogether too proud of that little fellow. A man can't put his nose into the door, but you think he must be coming to buy him. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] a wife and settle down on his place. At first he only scolded and grumbled these things; but yesterday he told me that I should take Mina for a wife, and settle down in a cabin with her, or he would sell me down river. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ O, but master is so kind ! ” “ Yes, but who knows ? — he may die—and then he may be sold to nobody knows who. What pleasure is it that he is handsome, and smart, and bright ? I tell you, Eliza, that a sword will pierce through your soul for every good and pleasant thing your child is or [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ To Canada, ” said he, straightening himself up; “ and when I 'm there, I'll buy you; that's all the hope that's left us. You have a kind master, that won't refuse to sell you. I'll buy you and the boy; — God helping me, I will ! ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Well, Emily, ” said her husband, “ so I have always felt and said; but the fact is that my business lies so that I cannot get on without. I shall have to sell some of my hands. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • So, apparently we just sold our ten millionth unit ! Evie, Space Paranoids. (Tron: Ares)