Present Simple Affirmative — Third-Person -s and Spelling
Practice adding -s/-es to present simple verbs, spelling changes for consonant+y and -ch/-sh/-o endings, and the irregular forms of have and do.
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My brother ___ in a large hospital.
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works
Third-person singular (he) takes -s: 'works'.
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She ___ medicine at university.
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studies
Consonant + y changes to -ies in the third person: 'study' → 'studies'.
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He ___ a film every Friday night.
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watches
Verbs ending in -ch add -es: 'watch' → 'watches'.
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The last train ___ at midnight.
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goes
'Go' adds -es in the third person: 'goes'.
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Water ___ at one hundred degrees Celsius.
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boils
The present simple is used for facts. 'Water' (it) takes -s: 'boils'.
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My grandmother ___ a lovely old garden.
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has
'Have' is irregular in the third person: he/she/it → has.
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He always ___ the washing-up after dinner.
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does
'Do' adds -es in the third person: 'does'.
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Everybody in my office ___ a thirty-minute lunch break.
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has
'Everybody' is grammatically singular, so it takes 'has'.
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The news ___ at ten o'clock on this channel.
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starts
'News' is an uncountable singular noun, so it takes -s: 'starts'.
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She ___ to go for a run every morning before work.
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tries
Consonant + y changes to -ies: 'try' → 'tries'. The sentence describes a routine, so the past 'tried' doesn't fit.
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Rice ___ in hot, wet countries like Thailand.
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grows
The present simple states a general truth, and 'rice' is singular, so it takes -s: 'rice grows'.
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My neighbour ___ his car every single Saturday.
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washes
Verbs ending in -sh add -es: 'wash' → 'washes'. 'Every single Saturday' signals a habit, so the past form is wrong.
Present Simple Affirmative: The Third-Person -s
The present simple affirmative is the base form of the verb for every subject except he, she and it, which require an -s ending. Getting the spelling of that ending right depends on the last letters of the verb, and two of the most frequent verbs in the language — 'have' and 'do' — are irregular.
Regular -s
Most verbs simply add -s for he/she/it, with no other change.
Water boils at one hundred degrees Celsius.
Consonant + Y → -ies
When a verb ends in a consonant followed by y, the y changes to i before adding -es.
She tries to go for a run every morning before work. (try → tries)
-ch, -sh, -o → -es
Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -ss, -x or -o add -es instead of -s, so the ending is pronounceable as an extra syllable.
My neighbour washes his car every single Saturday. (wash → washes)
The last train goes at midnight. (go → goes)
Irregular: Have → Has, Do → Does
'Have' and 'do' do not follow the regular -s pattern in the third person.
He always does the washing-up after dinner.
Grammatically Singular Subjects
Words like 'everybody', 'each' and uncountable nouns such as 'news' count as third-person singular even though they don't look like an obvious 'he/she/it'.
Each of the students has a different project to complete.
The news starts at ten o'clock on this channel.
Common Mistakes
✗ He watchs a film. → ✓ He watches a film.
✗ The last train gos at midnight. → ✓ The last train goes at midnight.
✗ My grandmother haves a lovely garden. → ✓ My grandmother has a lovely garden.
✗ Everybody in my office have a lunch break. → ✓ Everybody in my office has a lunch break.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial