Subject of verb, 1st, 2nd,3rd

First, second and third person singular as subjects of verbs

What do we mean by first (1st) person, second (2nd) person, third (3rd) person of a verb?

– they refer to the subject of the verb. The person or thing that does the action:

James lives in New York; here “James” is the subject of the verb “lives”

My green trousers look good; here “my green trousers” are the subject of the verb “look”

Why are they necessary?

They are used, along with tense (time), to help us understand which form of a verb is required.

In the English language this is only relevant

– with the verb to be in the present and the past.

– with other verbs in the present.

In other languages the form of the verb changes in all tenses.

1st person singular “I” this refers to “me”:

Examples: I am a teacher; I come from England; I live in a small town; I like reading; I went to school in England

2nd person singular (you) this refers to “you” the person I am talking to or writing to:

Examples: Do you like apples?; You are reading this; You wrote a comment on my web

3rd (third) person singular (she, he, it, John, Mary, my mother etc) This refers to another person or thing that is not “me” or “you”

Examples: David lives in London; He works in a bank; Maria studies Italian; She likes Italian food. My mother is a retired teacher. That dog can run very fast. The big, brown table looks good next to the window.

1st person plural “we” this refers to “us”, me and at least 1 other person:

2nd person plural (you) this refers to “you” the people (2 or more) that I am talking to or writing to:

3rd (third) person plural (they,  John and Mary, Fred’s children, the football team etc) This refers to other people or things that are not “us” or “you”

If want to do some more English grammar lessons, this is the place to go

1st, 2nd, 3rd person PLURAL first, second, third