Third-Person Singular
Third-Person Singular
English very rarely makes changes to verb endings. This could be one reason why ESL learners have difficulty writing the third-person singular, as it is hard to remember. Of the twelve primary tenses in the English language, there are only four in which the third person singular changes its ending. These four tenses are the simple present, present perfect, present perfect continuous, and the past continuous. The most variation of the third-person singular is found in the simple present tense, so we're going to cover that tense in detail.
The third-person singular in the simple present is when an English verb takes on an -s as a suffix. This occurs when two conditions are met:
When the subject is in the third person
When the subject is singular
These situations will be further explained in the following slides.
In a conversation, there can be three possible subjects. The subjects are in bold, and the verbs are in italics.
The first subject is the person who is actually speaking. This subject is known as the first person.
I like ice cream.
The second subject is the person who is being spoken to. This subject is known as the second person.
You like ice cream.
The third subject is a person who is not active in the conversation. This person is being spoken about but not to. This subject is known as the third person.
She likes ice cream.
This refers to the count of the subject, whether there is one subject or multiple subjects. Third-person singular subjects are he, she, and it, and the third-person plural subject is they. The subjects are in bold, and the verbs are in italics.
Third-Person Singular:
He loves cake.
Third-Person Plural:
They love cake.
If a sentence is written in the simple present tense, it is demonstrating
an action that is taking place in the present and has occurred once, never, or several times;
facts;
actions that are taking place one after another; or
an action that is set by a timetable or schedule.
If the following words are found in the sentence, then it is highly likely that the sentence is written in the simple present: always, every, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, and usually.
He always eats broccoli.
He eats broccoli every night.
He never eats broccoli.
He normally eats broccoli.
He often eats broccoli at lunch.
It is very seldom that he eats broccoli at breakfast.
Sometimes he eats broccoli with cheese.
He usually eats broccoli with butter.
The following slides will explain the five rules that are in place to change a verb so that it is in the third-person singular.
In most instances, you simply add an -s to the verb, and this will create the third person singular.
First-person singular:
I dream of candy.
Second-person singular:
You dream of candy.
Third-person singular:
She dreams of candy.
For verbs that end in -sh, -ch, -ss, or -x, add -es to their endings.
She washes her hands after dinner.
He teaches his children how to wash dishes.
He misses the dishwasher.
She fixes the dishwasher so he will stop complaining.
When a verb ends in a -y preceded by a vowel, an -s is added to the end.
She buys a bag of chips every day.
She pays for it with her allowance.
If a verb ends with a -y preceded by a consonant, then the -y is changed to an -i, and an -es is added.
He tries to give his vegetables to the dog.
He cries when his mom yells at him.
Some irregular verbs cannot be made to agree with the third-person singular simply by adding an -s. These irregular verbs are have, go, do, and be.
I have an apple.
He has an apple.
I go to the market.
She goes to the market.
I do homework before dinner.
He does homework before dinner.
I am hungry.
He is hungry.
While it may seem like the fact that there are only four tenses in which third-person singular verbs change their endings would reduce challenges to ESL learners, in some cases, it might make things more difficult. Pay close attention to the use of the third-person singular in ESL documents, and keep your eye out for subject-verb agreement errors.
Last Updated: 09/29/2022