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Present Tense - Third Person English Grammar Rules Normally in the present tense we add S to the end of the verb in the 3rd person (He, She, It). Verb
3rd Person
Speak Speaks Play
Plays
Give
Gives
Make
Makes
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He speaks three languages.
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She drinks coffee every morning.
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My dog hates my cat.
Irregular Verbs Irregular verbs in English in the present tense follow very simple rules. The only change that is made to these verbs is in the third person – for He, She or It. 1. If the verb ends in SS, X, CH, SH or the letter O, we add + ES in the third person. Verb
3rd Person
Kiss
Kisses
Fix
Fixes
Watch Watches Crash Crashes Go
Goes •
A mechanic fixes cars.
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She watches soap operas every afternoon.
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He kisses his wife before he goes to work.
2. If the verb ends in a Consonant + Y, we remove the Y and + IES in the third person. Verb
3rd Person
Carry Carries
Hurry Hurries Study Studies Deny Denies •
Isabel studies every night.
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The baby cries all the time.
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He denies all responsibility.
Negative Sentence To form the negative we use the auxiliary do not. Again, the only variation occurs in the 3rd person where we usedoes not.
Positive
Negative
I talk
I do not talk
She talks
She does not talk
You sleep
You do not sleep
He sleeps
He does not sleep
Carol studies Carol does not study We study
We do not study
In the negative, the main verb is always in the bare infinitive (without TO). It doesn't change for the third person. We don't put an S on the end of the verb in the negative form. In the examples above - talk, sleep and study do not change in the 3rd person. •
He speaks Italian He doesn't speak Italian.
Remember: Do not can be abbreviated to Don't and Does not can be abbreviated to Doesn't.