LinguaThird person -s
We use the Present Simple to talk about habits and regular actions. With he, she, and it, the verb usually adds -s. This is called the third person singular form.
He works in a hospital.
She drives a bus.
How to make the form
Most verbs add -s: work → works, teach → teaches. Some verbs need -es, and verbs ending in consonant + y change to -ies. Learn the spelling pattern with each new verb.
| Base verb | He / She / It form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| work | works | He works in an office. |
| teach | teaches | She teaches English. |
| finish | finishes | It finishes at six. |
| drive | drives | He drives a taxi. |
| study | studies | She studies at home. |
| fly | flies | It flies at night. |
Spelling rules
Add -es after verbs ending in -sh, -ch, -ss, -x, or -o: finish → finishes, watch → watches, go → goes. If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add -es: study → studies. If the verb ends in vowel + y, just add -s: play → plays.
Pronunciation of the ending
The ending has three common sounds: /s/, /z/, and /ɪz/. After many quiet sounds, it sounds like /s/: works. After many voiced sounds, it sounds like /z/: drives. After -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, it sounds like /ɪz/: teaches, finishes.
| Verb form | Ending sound | Say it like... |
|---|---|---|
| works | /s/ | workss |
| drives | /z/ | drivez |
| teaches | /ɪz/ | teach-iz |
| finishes | /ɪz/ | finish-iz |
She teaches children.
He finishes work at five.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| work | work | He works in a bank. |
| teacher | teacher | She is a teacher at a school. |
| teach | teach | She teaches math. |
| driver | driver | He is a bus driver. |
| drive | drive | He drives to work every day. |
| office | office | She works in an office. |
| hospital | hospital | He works in a hospital. |
| school | school | She teaches at a school. |
| finish | finish | He finishes work at six. |
| study | study | She studies English at home. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- fill the gap: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Choose the correct sentence.
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.