Present Simple
Lesson 3 of 6 · ~4 minutes

Lesson 3 · Present Simple

Spelling

Spelling

In the third person singular — after he / she / it — the spelling of the ending depends on how the verb is written, not on how it sounds.

Three cases

  • -sfor most verbs just add it: work → works, live → lives
  • -esif the verb ends in s, sh, ch, x, z or o: go → goes, watch → watches. Otherwise you'd get gos — that isn't how it's spelled.
  • -iesconsonant + y: study → studies. After a vowel, y stays: play → plays

If the verb ends in

most letters
s, sh, ch, x, o
consonant + y

We write

-s
-es
y → ies

Example

work → works
go → goes
study → studies
If the verb ends in
We write
Example
most letters
-s
work → works
s, sh, ch, x, o
-es
go → goes
consonant + y
y → ies
study → studies

Where people usually slip

After a vowel, y doesn't change: play → plays, not plaies.

The confusion comes from studies: there's a consonant (d) before the y, so the y changes. In play there's a vowel before the y — nothing changes.

In short

  • usually-s
  • -o / -s / -sh / -ch / -x-es
  • consonant + y-ies
Back to lessons