How to form Verbs ending in “s” in the Present Simple tense
In the present tense, there are are two Present Simple verb forms the verb to be or other verbs.
- With the verb be we use am, are, and is. The negative is formed by adding not to the verb: is not (isn’t), am not and are not (aren’t)
Other verbs in the Present Simple verb form in the 3rd (third) person singular
we add “s”, “es” or “ies” at the end of the verb
- I run
- You run
- He/she/it runs
- We run
- You run
- 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 that has a sibilant sound – ss, ch, x, tch, sh, zz (watch > watches, guess > guesses, mix > mixes)
– by changing final “y” to “ies” after a consonant+y (study > studies, party > parties, fly > flies)
– irregular forms
Extended table: more examples of verb + s; es, ies
* Look at the table below to see the difference between verbs finishing with vowel + y (stay, play etc) and verbs finishing with consonant + y (cry, fly, study etc)
Spelling of third person singular forms in Present Simple Tense |
||||
| Most verbs: Add “s” to infinitive(1) verbs finishing with a vowel + “y” :add “s” |
Work -> |
works |
Sit -> |
sits |
|
Stay -> |
stays (1) |
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* |
|
||
| Verbs ending in sibilant sounds –s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x add “es” to infinitive |
Push-> |
pushes |
Fix-> |
Fixes |
|
Catch-> |
catches |
Confess-> |
confesses | |
|
Buzz-> |
buzzes |
Finish-> |
finishes | |
| Verbs ending with “o” Verb “have” |
Go-> |
goes |
Do-> |
does |
|
Have-> |
has |
|
||
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, mix, hiss
Extended table: Check your answers of verbs with “s” “es” and “ies” here
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
- Play: I play chess very badly, your sister plays very well
- Mix: The chef mixes the flour with the water
Here you can compare it with the Present Continuous
See “Comments” section below for more comments about:
-
What is the Third person singular
-
Why we need to add “es”
you have to give more examples
have to isn’t a good word for say ,
“have to” is very good to say:
– My holidays are finished I have to go to work tomorrow.
– John has to prepare for his exams.
We use it to show an obligation
But in the case above it would be better to say “You should give some more examples” It would be even better in natural English to use a question: “Could you give some more examples?”
what about you need to
for verbs or nouns that end in Y and are preceded by a vocal, you do not do the change to “ies”. Example: to buy – buys; toy – toys.
Thank you Cristina. If you look at the table you will see examples of both types, those with vowel + y and those with consonant + y. I have just added a little extra comment and will rewrite the page with more examples.
muy interesante
Muchas gracias José
that’s useful! nice!
good..but please add more the example of verb 1+es/s, thank you..
Now we’ve added more examples see:
https://learnenglishlanguagewell.com/2014/present-simple-s-answers/
concordo pois eu queria saber mais sobre quando colocar s es ies
Thanks. More examples of words ending in “y” would be useful
Here are some more examples:
https://learnenglishlanguagewell.com/2014/present-simple-s-answers/
Really thanx alot ,i really need this information because i’m very confused in this present simple tense in where ‘s/es’ is use and where this is not !
last again thank you
Thanks for your comment Kamal, your feedback is always welcome.
If you have any other confusions about the English language, send us a message and we’ll try to help you
Show me verbs that ending with single (s) only.
Thanks.
Sir I have spling mistake so haw can I mak my mistake
Yes, it is true that you have spelling mistakes.
How can you avoid making these mistakes? Try to do 5 minutes reading and writing practice everyday. If it is possible to do it 2 or 3 times a day it will be better. Only use texts that you know are correct
Show me the verbs ending with single (s).
Show me verbs ending with single s
Dear Zia,
Thank you for your question. Of course there are no verbs in their infinitive forms that end with a single “s”. This also the case for verbs that finish with “z” (waltz is an exception)
I put “s” rather than “ss” along with z, ch, sh and x to keep it simpler. Also the English language is constantly changing and evolving, so it’s not impossible that a new verb may appear that ends with a single “s”. It will probably come from the world of telephony or technology in the same way that “google” has now become a verb.
If you have any other queries, please don’t hesitate to leave another comment
Dear Admin,
i have a question regarding ‘s & es’. In present indefinate tense why do we add ‘s or es’ at the end of the verb when we use third person singular as a subject. what is the nessecity according to grammer. please give some example with your answer.
Dear Jaseem,
Thank you for your question.
It is not a question of grammar as such, it is a matter of pronunciation. With spelling in English (and probably other languages) we have to consider that the spoken language existed before reading and writing was established. Therefore the spelling of the words that end in sibilant sounds (x; s, ch, z; sh) reflects how we pronounce the words. This is because if we want to pronounce these verbs – miss, mix, match, mash with an additional “s” sound we need to add a vowel sound after the x, ss, ch, etc or it becomes extremely difficult to pronounce. So the spelling: misses, mixes, matches and mashes guide us to the correct prounciation for the written word.
If it is really necessary for the third person singular to be different than the others, whilst all the past forms of a verb are the same, is another question which I can’t answer fully here. “he”, “she” and “it” (3rd person singular) are not strong sounding personal pronouns and without the final “s” there could be confusion in understanding if we are referring to “you” or another person.
This can happen sometimes with the singular “you” and the plural “you”, as a teacher my students don’t always know if I’m referring to one person or more. Young people in Britain have started to use “yous” to refer to the plural “you”. I personally don’t like it, but as English is constantly evolving it could one day become acceptable.
I hope that helps you. If I can be of any other help please don’t hesitate to post another comment
Regards Ian
Dear Ian,
Thanks for the answer.
Now I have understood that why we use “es” with those words that end gives sibilant sounds (x; s, ch, z; sh).
Q.No.1 why do we use “es” with the verb “GO” in present tense like (He goes why we do not make he gos) as the word GO does not give the sibilant sound. please explain with examples.
Q.No.2 why do we use “ies” with those verbs which have 2nd last word as a consonant like (Cry & Dry) as we make sentence (he cries or she dries why do not we make it he crys and she drys) please explain with examples.
Q.NO.3 As you answered that (“he”, “she” and “it” (3rd person singular) are not strong sounding personal pronouns and without the final “s” there could be confusion in understanding if we are referring to “you” or another person) Can you explain why (3rd person singular) are not strong? if we do not use final “s” at the end of verbs for 3rd person so what will make confusion?
I shall be very thankful for your answer.
Regards
Ian
Dear Jaseem,
Thanks for getting back to me. To be perfectly honest with you it is not always possible to explain “why” some of these things have happened with the English language. Some languages (Spanish for example) have an official language committee that meet regularly to approve or reject words or expressions as being acceptable for their language. The English language does not have this, changes take place over the years as a result of how the language is used. In the past English grammar was more complex with similarities to German verb forms.
Bearing this in mind I’ll answer your questions. But remember that these spelling rules are exactly the same as the ones we apply for forming plurals of nouns
1. adding “es” after a verb ending with “o” (go > goes seems) is the same as changing tomato > tomatoes. The idea is to maintain the pronunciation of the “o”. In go, tomato and hello the “o” is pronounced like “oh”, if “goes” was spelt “gos” the “o” would be pronounced like the “o” in “off”
do > does has different pronunciation, I don’t know why it needs to have “es” it’s probably to maintain the same spelling rule!
2. I am not sure “why” it is necessary to change the “y” for “ies” – I am not a historical lexicographer. However, I would hazard a guess that it is because in old English “crys” would have been pronounced the same as “cris”
3. Hundreds of years ago all the declinations of a verb would have been different, like in German or Spanish nowadays. The forms “I, you (sing), he/ she/it, we, you (plural) and they” of the verb “speak” in Spanish are “hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, hableis, hablan” Every word was different in the past in English as well and over time these have changed with use. Why has the 3rd person singular form not changed? We can’t be certain. I suggested that maybe when we talk to a person (A) about another person (B) it’s better to have another verb form so that (A) knows we are talking about (B) and not (A). This is just conjecture on my part.
Jaseem, the mechanics of forming the 3rd person singular are as I explained in the article above. They have evolved over time and may well continue changing over the next 100 years. But for the moment you and I have to use the present-day rules of adding “s”, “es” or “ies”
Thank you once again
Hi! We have a little debate on this one:
1. Ike and Hanna loves and misses you so much.
2. Ike and Hanna love you and miss you so much.
Which one is correct? Please help.
Hi Hanna!
Number 2 is the correct answer.
Ike and Hanna (they) is the third person plural so we don’t add an “s” to the verb.
If you want to say:
“Ike and Hanna love and miss you so much”
It is also correct
Thank you so much!
do we use s or es with a verb if the subject is a proper noun?
Yes, of course. The important thing is that it is the 3rd person singular:
Mary misses her family. (miss)
Mr Smith’s sister goes running everyday. (go)
Hashim studies very hard. (study)
François lives in Paris. (live)
Dear admin,
I m confused third person verb we are use open instead of open but why their is use closes inated of close???
Dear Payal,
Thank you for your question. I am not certain that I completely understand what you are asking me, but here are some comments:
If we are using the 3rd person SINGULAR (and not the PLURAL) of the Present Simple we always add an “s” in the affirmative form.
– Mary “closes” the windows before she goes to bed (Mary is “She” – 3rd person SINGUL)
– Mary “opens” the windows in the morning when she wakes up
or
FRED and MIKE “close” the windows before they go to bed (Fred and Mike is “they” = 3rd person PLURAL)
FRED and MIKE “open” the windows in the morning.
So as you can see “close” and “open” work in the same way
Does that answer your question?
Please reply me ..we are use closes instead of close but why we use open as is..
tengo una duda en esta oracion
Susy and her family travel to Ambato
travel es sin s o con s
Hola Estefania! Gracias por tu pregunta:
Tienes que pensar si el sujeto del verbo es singular o plural. Entonces si fuera Susy sola, seria “Susy travels to Ambato”. Pero aquí Susy no viaja sola, viaja con su família = plural. La respuesta correcta es “Susy and her family travel to Ambato”
¿Te ha quedado claro? Solo ponemos una “s” final en el presente en la tercera persona SINGULAR, jamás si hay 2 ó más personas.
insecurities kills the cat, is it correct?
Hi Eugene,
Insecurities is the plural of the noun “insecurity” so the phrase should be:
Insecurities kill the cat, or: Insecurity kills the cat
Or could it be that you are looking for the proverb “Curiousity killed the cat” which is used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation.
I hope this helps 🙂
Hi,,
We add “s or es” with verb when singular subject is used but we know that “i” is also a singular subject then why we don’t add “s or es” with verb..
Thank you Nasir
“I” and “you” are singular subjects. But we only add “s, ies or es” when it’s a third person singular. That means any one person or thing that is not “I” or “you”, for example: she, he, it, my mother, the President, Jane, the blue car etc etc
Sorry I don’t understand about this part of model and homework so I didn’t do that .I will try to do next time.
dear sir ,
i like very very your websit .please sir i wish to learn english grammar with you .please you give me a time .
Dear Sardar,
Thank you very much for your comments, please tell your friends 🙂
If I understand correctly, you work in High Tech engineers which is in India and I live in Spain. At the moment we don’t offer online or Skype English courses.
I’m very sorry about that
Hello sir I m having doubt of articles where it is used a,an, and the can u tell me I am not aware that and by the way thanks for telling me about s/es I got my all answer
Hello Gopal,
I’m very happy that you did well with s/es/ies ends of present simple verb forms.Thank you for telling me.
So now you need some help with the articles “a”, “an” and “the”. No problem, I have an article that explains the difference between these 3 words that will help you: https://learnenglishlanguagewell.com/2012/aan-or-the/ OK? Good luck
why we can not use ‘did’ as halping verb in past indefinite tense instead of using only 2nd form of verb?e.g I did go to school???plz reply
Dear Malik, I am not certain that I understand your question.
Is your question: why can’t we use “did” in affirmative forms of Past Simple tenses? If this is you question, here is your answer.
The Past Simple is formed in a similar way to the Present Simple. We use the past form of the verb in the affirmative:
I went to school at 8.00am
and use the auxiliary “did” in questions and negatives accompanied with the infinitive form of the verb:
What time did you go to school?
I didn’t go to school at 9.00am
In exceptional circumstances we can use did in the affirmative to make special emphasis:
Mike: You didn’t go to school at 8.00, you went at 9.00am!
Terry: That’s not true, I DID go to school at 8.00, my teacher can tell you.
I hope that answers your question
thank you!
Thank YOU Malik! We’re very happy to help
Hi Admin!
I have another question please clear my confusion..
Q.no:1 why repetition of words is not allowed in grammar?
dear admin plz answer my question
Hi Admin!
I have another question please clear my confusion..
Q.no:1 why repetition of words is not allowed in grammar?
Hi Malik!
Could you give me an example of what confuses you, please? What type of repetition of words do you mean?
e.g The time is passing slowly slowly…
Hi Malik again,
In this example it would be more usual to say: Time is passing slowly, very slowly
Similarly we often use words like slowly to give instructions:
Quickly, quickly! we are going to be late!
Generally within a sentence we would modify the adjective to make it more emphatic.
So instead of saying “She had long, long hair” We might say “She had really long hair”
I hope that helps.
Thank you so much!