English Daily Workout: Simple Present: spelling rules for adding s/es in the 3rd person singular

Simple Present: spelling rules for adding s/es in the 3rd person singular

Simple Present: Spelling rules for adding s in the third person singular

Some verbs change their spelling when s is added in the third person singular.

a. Verbs ending in y
The English letters aeio and u are generally referred to as vowels. The other English letters are generally referred to as consonants.

When a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to ie before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the consonant immediately preceding the final y is underlined.



Bare InfinitiveThird Person Singular
  study  studies
  fly  flies
  carry  carries


However, when a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the vowel immediately preceding the final y is underlined.


Bare InfinitiveThird Person Singular
  say  says
  enjoy  enjoys
  buy  buys

Paying attention to which verbs change their spelling before adding s in the third person singular, fill in the blanks with the Simple Present of the verbs shown in brackets. 

For example:
He always _______ promptly. (to reply) He always replies promptly. 
She _____ little. (to say) She says little. 
They _____ bridge once a week. (to play) They play bridge once a week.




Answers:
1. denies 2. try 3. pays 4. studies 5. display 6. enjoys 7. flies 8. employ 9. accompanies 10. buys




Verbs ending in o
When a verb ends in o, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example:

Bare InfinitiveThird Person Singular
  do  does
  echo  echoes
  go  goes

c. Verbs ending in ch, s, sh, x or z
When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as chsshx or z, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example:

Bare InfinitiveThird Person Singular
  pass  passes
  push  pushes
  watch  watches
  fix  fixes
  buzz  buzzes
Answers: 1. does 2. watches 3. owns 4. do 5. wishes 6. wants 7. confesses 8. tells 9. press 10. washes

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