The s in the third person singular form: How and When to Use in English
Quick and simple lesson to help you understand grammar better.
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The s in the third person singular form
In the present tense, regular verbs are conjugated by adding an s in the third person singular:
| I want | We want |
| You want | You want |
| He/She/It wants | They want |
I always wear blue jeans, and my sister always wears skirts.
Verbs ending in 'ss' 'ch' 'sh' or 'x' add 'es' to the end of the verb:
Luna washes her hair with a special herbal shampoo. (to wash)
The priest blesses his wine. (to bless)
Susie relaxes every day after lunch. (to relax)
For verbs ending in a consonant followed by 'y', we remove the 'y' and add 'ies' to the end of the verb. This does not apply to verbs ending in a vowel followed by 'y', which are conjugated normally.
My brother studies history. (to study > studies)
I hope my son marries someone rich. (to marry > marries)
I don't care what she says, I'm eating this cake. (to say > says)
Note:
• The auxiliary verbs be, have and do, plus the verb go, are irregular and are conjugated as follows:
| I am / am not | He is / isn't |
| I have / haven't | She has / hasn't |
| I do / don't | He does / doesn't |
| I go | She goes |
• The other auxiliary verbs, called modal verbs (will, must, may, would, etc.), have only one form therefore do not need an s in the third person singular:
She must come.
He should be here by now.
Exercise 1
Icarus the numbers three times every evening.
Icarus verifies the numbers three times every evening.
verifies: The third person form of the verb 'to verify' is 'verifies'. The simple present tense is used to describe regular or habitual actions. 'Every morning' indicates that Icarus verifies the numbers 'regularly'.
verify: In the present tense, the third person form of the verb requires an 's' at the end.
verification: 'Verification' is a noun. We must use a verb in this sentence.
very fine: It doesn't make any sense to use this answer, but good try anyway!
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb.
Tomorrow, Dr. von Headcold must an emergency appendectomy on a very sick little girl. Afterwards she will Bruno for his monthly check up, in order to monitor the state of his Anosmia. Dr. von Headcold really her job.
Tomorrow, Dr. von Headcold must an emergency appendectomy on a very sick little girl. Afterwards she will Bruno for his monthly check up, in order to monitor the state of his Anosmia. Dr. von Headcold really her job.
Fill in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb.
Tomorrow, Dr. von Headcold must [not done] perform 1 an emergency appendectomy on a very sick little girl. Afterwards she will [not done] meet 2 Bruno for his monthly check up, in order to monitor the state of his Anosmia. Dr. von Headcold really [not done] loves 3 her job.
Tomorrow, Dr. von Headcold must [not done] perform 1 an emergency appendectomy on a very sick little girl. Afterwards she will [not done] meet 2 Bruno for his monthly check up, in order to monitor the state of his Anosmia. Dr. von Headcold really [not done] loves 3 her job.
1 perform: In the simple present tense, when a verb directly follows a modal auxiliary (would, could, should etc), we must put it in the infinitive form (without 'to').
2 meet: To create the simple future tense, we take the auxiliary 'will' and follow it with the infinitive form of the main verb, in this case 'meet'. We use the infinitive form of the verb without 'to' in these cases. Note: the future progressive tense can also be used here: Dr. von Headcold WILL BE MEETING with Bruno.
3 loves: The third person form of the verb 'to love' is loves. The simple present tense can be used to describe a general feeling or opinion, such as the fact that Dr. von Headcold loves his job.
Exercise 3
Choose the appropriate forms of the verb 'to go' to complete the sentence!
Kevin to the gym every day to help build his muscles, but Polly says it isn't to work because the gym is so expensive, and Kevin is so cheap.
Kevin to the gym every day to help build his muscles, but Polly says it isn't to work because the gym is so expensive, and Kevin is so cheap.
Choose the appropriate forms of the verb 'to go' to complete the sentence!
Kevin goes 1 to the gym every day to help build his muscles, but Polly says it isn't going 2 to work because the gym is so expensive, and Kevin is so cheap.
Kevin goes 1 to the gym every day to help build his muscles, but Polly says it isn't going 2 to work because the gym is so expensive, and Kevin is so cheap.
1 goes: The third person singular form of the verb 'to go' is 'goes'.
1 go: 'Go' is incorrect because the subject is in the third person singular.
2 going: 'Is going to' is a construction used to express the future tense. This is the best choice here.
2 goes: 'Goes' is incorrect here because 'it isn't' needs to be followed by a verb ending in 'ing'.
Exercise 4
Conjugate the verbs in the blanks into the present simple tense:
Bob late for work today. He has to rush to make it on time. He a shower, Sophie and out the door. Whoosh! Hopefully Bruno won't be too upset with him. Maybe he'll stop and buy some flowers.
Bob late for work today. He has to rush to make it on time. He a shower, Sophie and out the door. Whoosh! Hopefully Bruno won't be too upset with him. Maybe he'll stop and buy some flowers.
Conjugate the verbs in the blanks into the present simple tense:
Bob [not done] is 1 late for work today. He has to rush to make it on time. He [not done] takes 2 a shower, [not done] kisses 3 Sophie and [not done] hurries 4 out the door. Whoosh! Hopefully Bruno won't be too upset with him. Maybe he'll stop and buy some flowers.
Bob [not done] is 1 late for work today. He has to rush to make it on time. He [not done] takes 2 a shower, [not done] kisses 3 Sophie and [not done] hurries 4 out the door. Whoosh! Hopefully Bruno won't be too upset with him. Maybe he'll stop and buy some flowers.
1 is: This is the best choice here. 'Is' is the present tense conjugation of the verb 'to be' in the third-person singular (he).
2 takes: This is the best choice here. 'Takes' is the present tense conjugation of the verb 'to take' in the third-person singular (he).
3 kisses: 'Kisses' is the present tense conjugation of the verb 'to kiss' in the third-person singular (he).
4 hurries: This is the best choice here. 'Hurries' is the present tense conjugation of the verb 'to hurry' in the third-person singular (he).
Exercise 5
Fill in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb in the present tense
1. Luna a car, but she usually her bike to work because it's better for the environment.
2. Horatio a parrot, but he his monkeys as companions, because they remind him of little furry people.
1. Luna a car, but she usually her bike to work because it's better for the environment.
2. Horatio a parrot, but he his monkeys as companions, because they remind him of little furry people.
Fill in the blanks below with the correct form of the verb in the present tense
1. Luna [not done] has 1 a car, but she usually [not done] rides 2 her bike to work because it's better for the environment.
2. Horatio [not done] owns 3 a parrot, but he [not done] prefers 4 his monkeys as companions, because they remind him of little furry people.
1. Luna [not done] has 1 a car, but she usually [not done] rides 2 her bike to work because it's better for the environment.
2. Horatio [not done] owns 3 a parrot, but he [not done] prefers 4 his monkeys as companions, because they remind him of little furry people.
1 has: In the present simple tense, the verb 'to have' is conjugated as 'has' in the third person singular form. It is an irregular verb, and in this construction indicates Luna's possession of a car. We use the simple present tense as we are describing a habitual action in the present tense.
2 rides: In the present simple tense, the verb 'to ride' is conjugated as 'rides' in the third person singular form. It is an irregular verb: ride/rode/ridden. We use the simple present tense as we are describing a habitual action in the present tense.
3 owns: In the present simple tense, the verb 'to own' is conjugated as 'owns' in the third person singular form. In this construction, 'own' indicates Horatio's possession of a parrot. We use the simple present tense as we are describing Horatio's current ownership of a parrot.
4 prefers: In the present simple tense, the verb 'to prefer' is conjugated as 'prefers' in the third person singular form. In this construction, 'prefers' indicates Horatio's preference for monkeys over parrots. We use the simple present tense as we are describing Horatio's general, ongoing preference for monkeys.
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