Verbs ending in “s”, “es” and “ies” in the Present Simple tense
In the Present Simple verb form 3rd (third) person singular
we add “s”, “es” or “ies” at the end of the verb
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I run
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You run
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He/she/it runs
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We run
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You run
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They run
There are three ways to make the “S form”:
– by adding “s” to the end of a verb (run >runs, sit >sits,see >sees, play > plays)
– by adding “es” to the end of the verb (watch > watches, guess > guesses)
– by changing final “y” to “ies” (study > studies, party > parties, fly > flies)
– irregular forms
*see table below for difference between verbs finishing with vowel + y (stay, play etc) and verbs finishing with consonant + y (cry, fly, study etc)
See more examples of verbs with “s”, “es” and “ies”
Spelling of third person singular forms in Present Simple Tense |
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| Most verbs: Add “s” to inf |
Work -> |
works |
Sit -> |
sits |
|
Stay -> |
stays* |
See -> |
sees | |
|
know -> |
knows |
Live -> |
lives | |
| Verbs ending with consonant and “y”: Change “y” for “ies” |
Cry-> |
cries* |
Hurry-> |
hurries* |
|
Fly-> |
flies* |
Imply-> |
implies* | |
|
Try-> |
tries* |
|
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| Verbs ending in sibilant sounds –s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x |
Push-> |
pushes |
Fix-> |
Fixes |
|
Catch-> |
catches |
Confess-> |
confesses | |
|
Buzz-> |
buzzes |
Finish-> |
finishes | |
| Verbs ending with “o” Verb “have” |
Go-> |
goes |
Do-> |
does |
|
Have-> |
has |
|
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Think about these verbs, what group do they go in?
spy, rush, get, play, tax, employ, sew, follow, fight, boil, deny, meet, look, reach, display, pass, fry, echo, teach, ask, touch, kiss, send, buy. fax, hiss
See ANSWERS in the completed table
Ask us your ENGLISH GRAMMAR questions
Examples:
- Work: I work in London; They work in Berlin; He works in an office
- Study: You study English; we study geography; she studies French
- Finish: I finish early; you finish late; John finishes tomorrow
- Pass: You pass your exams; they pass their exams; Maria passes her exams
- Do: They do their homework; we do our homework; She does her homework
- Have: We have a nice car; you have a big car; Fred has a black car