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Verbs with “s”, “es” and “ies” in Present Simple

How and when 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, worry 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

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  • What is the Third person singular

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