English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Present tense
8 Basic Verb Forms
Part 2 Verb Phrases
With the exception of the verb be (and the modal auxiliary verbs that we will discuss later in this chapter), the present tense of all verbs is derived directly from the base form.
However, the present tense differs significantly from the base form in that all verbs in the present tense must enter into a subject-verb agreement relationship with their subjects (something that base-form verbs can never do). This agreement is most easily seen in the unique use of the third-person singular - (e)s when the subject noun phrase is a third-person singular pronoun (he, she, it) or any grammatical structure that can be replaced by a third-person pronoun. Here are some examples of structures that can be replaced by third-person pronouns:
Exercise 8.2
Replace incorrect base-form verbs with third-person singular present-tense verbs. Confirm your answers by replacing the subject noun phrase with the appropriate third-person pronoun. If the sentence does not require a third-person singular present-tense verb, write OK.
1. The econ class meet in room 103.
2. Knowing what to do be not the same as actually doing it.
3. My son always want to eat the same thing every day.
4. The train on track 2 only stop at Philadelphia and Washington.
5. What the article said about the economy make a lot of sense to me.
6. My wife commute to the city by train every day.
7. The car that he was asking me about be an old Alfa Romeo.
8. What happened only prove that I was right all along.
9. The entire company shut down between Christmas and New Year’s.
10. The couple in the apartment above me always play their TV too loud.
While it is easy to see that third-person singular verbs enter into subject-verb agreement relationships with their subjects, we should not forget that all other forms (other than third-person singular) of the present tense equally enter into subject-verb agreement even though the verb does not change form. For example, the verbs in the following sentences all enter into a subject-verb relationship with their subjects:
I refuse to answer the phone. (first-person singular pronoun subject)
The books on the desk have to be returned. (plural noun phrase subject)
They seem upset about something. (third-person plural pronoun subject)
The third-person singular -(e)s is quite regular in pronunciation (the few irregular forms are discussed below). It follows the same rules for pronunciation as the plural endings on regular nouns.
If the base ends in a sibilant sound, the ending is pronounced as a separate syllable /Ez/ rhyming with buzz. Here are examples of the most common sibilant sounds that this rule applies to:
If the verb ends in a voiceless consonant sound other than a sibilant, the ending is pronounced /s/. The voiceless consonants are usually spelled p, t, k, ck, f, gh (if pronounced /f/). Here are some examples:
back backs
cough coughs
cut cuts
hop hops
walk walks
If the verb ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant sound, the ending is pronounced /z/. For example:
call calls
come comes
read reads
run runs
row rows
see sees
snow snows
There are a few verbs with irregular third-person singular forms. The most common, of course, is be, with is as its third-person singular form.
The verb have is also irregular in the third-person singular:
have has
Two other verbs have irregular pronunciations in the third-person singular:
do /duw/ (rhymes with two)
does /dəz /(rhymes with buzz)
say /sey/ (rhymes with gay)
says /sɛz/ (rhymes with fez)
Exercise 8.3
All of the verbs in the following list form their third-person singular in the regular way with a single sibilant sound pronounced /s/ or /z/ or with a separate unstressed syllable pronounced /əz/. Write the third-person singular form of the noun in the /s/, /z/, or /əz/ column depending on its pronunciation.
Singular
form /s/ /z/ /əz/
reach reaches
1. race
2. send
3. knock
4. shop
5. eat
6. mention
7. rush
8. approach
9. contain
10. doubt
11. cause
12. clash
13. hedge
14. end
15. freeze
16. show
17. fail
18. patch
19. allow
20. sign
The spelling of the third-person singular is quite regular, following the same spelling rules as the plural of regular nouns.
If the verb ends in a sibilant sound, the ending is spelled -es (unless the present-tense verb already ends in an e, in which case just the -s is added). For example:
Base Third-person singular
box boxes
buzz buzzes
catch catches
clutch clutches
wish wishes
budge budges
If the verb ends in any nonsibilant sound (vowels, voiced and voiceless consonants), then we merely add -s, for example:
Base Third-person singular
snow snows (ends in vowel)
bring brings (ends in voiced consonant)
result results (ends in voiceless consonant)
The only possible confusion is with verbs that end in a final silent e. For example:
give gives
strike strikes
relate relates
complete completes
At first glance, the final silent e + -s looks just like the -es ending that is used after sibilant sounds to indicate that the third-person singular -es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For example, compare the spelling of vote-votes and push-pushes. The spelling of votes is a final silent e + - s. The spelling of pushes is a sibilant sound /š/ plus a second, unstressed syllable /əz/.
As was the case with the plural of regular nouns, if the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -es. For example:
cry cries
deny denies
fly flies
reply replies
spy spies
try tries
However, if the final y is part of the spelling of the vowel sound, then just add an s. For example:
buy buys
enjoy enjoys
obey obeys
play plays
Exercise 8.4
Write the third-person singular form of the base-form verbs in the first column.
Base form Third-person singular form
please pleases
1. admit ...
2. supply
3. go
4. leave
5. annoy
6. kiss
7. have
8. match
9. identify
10. declare
11. reduce
12. approach
13. destroy
14. eliminate
15. convince