Chapter 2 the simple present of verbs other than the verb to be

CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 2 THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS OTHER THAN THE VERB TO BE 1 Formation of the simple present The Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be is formed from the bare infinitive[.]

CHAPTER 2.  THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS OTHER THAN THE VERB

TO BE

1 Formation of the simple present The Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be is formed from the bare infinitive of

the verb As shown in the following examples, the bare infinitive of a verb consists of the

infinitive without the word to The bare infinitive is the form in which English

verbs are usually listed in dictionaries For example:

In the Simple Present of verbs other than the verb to be, the form of the verb used with the subjects I , you, we and they is the same as the bare infinitive The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it has the ending s added to the bare infinitive.

For example, the Simple Present of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:

I work you work

he works she works

it works

we work they work

The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it is generally referred to as the third person singular

a The simple present of the verb To Have

The Simple Present of the verb to have is slightly irregular, since the bare infinitive is have, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular is has The Simple Present of the verb to have is conjugated as follows:

I have you have

he has she has

it has

we have they have

2 Spelling rules for adding s in the third person singular Some verbs change their spelling when s is added in the third person singular.

a Verbs ending in y

The English letters a, e, i, o and u are generally referred to as vowels The other English letters are generally referred to as consonants.

When a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to ie before the ending s is added In each of the following examples, the consonant immediately preceding the final y is underlined.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

However, when a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending s is added In each of the following examples, the vowel immediately preceding the final y is underlined.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

b Verbs ending in o

When a verb ends in o, the letter e is added before the s ending For example:

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

c Verbs ending in ch, s, sh, x or z

When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the letter e is added before the s

ending For example:

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

3 Pronunciation of the es ending

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation, usually consisting of a vowel sound which may or may not be accompanied by consonants

When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the es ending of the third person

singular is pronounced as a separate syllable The reason for this is that these sounds are so

similar to the sound of the es ending, that the ending must be pronounced as a

separate syllable in order to be heard clearly

In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one

syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists of two syllables

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

Similarly, when s is added to verbs ending in ce, ge, se or ze, the final es is usually

pronounced as a separate syllable In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists

of two syllables

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

However, when s is added to a verb ending in e preceded by a letter

other than c, g, s or z, the final es is not pronounced as a separate syllable In each

of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the form of the verb used in the third person singular consist of one syllable

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

4 The auxiliary Do

With the exception of the verb to be, verbs in modern English use the auxiliary do to form

questions and negative statements in the Simple Present

The Simple Present of the verb to do is conjugated as follows:

I do you do

he does she does

it does

we do they do

Auxiliaries are verbs which are combined with other verbs to form various tenses It should be

noted that when an auxiliary is combined with another verb, it is the auxiliary which must agree with the subject, while the form of the other verb remains invariable

When the auxiliary do is combined with another verb, the other verb always has the form of

the bare infinitive

a Questions

In order to form a question in the Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is added before the subject, and the bare

infinitive of the verb is placed after the subject For example:

b Negative statements

In order to form a negative statement, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do followed by the word not is placed before the bare

infinitive of the verb For example:

  You work   You do not work

  He works   He does not work

  She works   She does not work

  It works   It does not work

  They work   They do not work

In spoken English, the following contractions are often used:

c Negative questions

To form a negative question, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is placed before the

subject, and the word not followed by the bare infinitive is placed after the subject However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the Simple Present of the auxiliary do For example:

  Do I not work?   Don't I work?

  Do you not work?   Don't you work?

  Does he not work?   Doesn't he work?

  Does she not work?   Doesn't she work?

  Does it not work?   Doesn't it work?

  Do we not work?   Don't we work?

  Do they not work?   Don't they work?

d Tag questions

The auxiliary do or does is used for a tag question which follows a statement containing the Simple Present of a verb other than the verb to be In the following examples, the

negative tag questions are underlined Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions

Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question

  I work   I work, don't I?

  You work   You work, don't you?

  He works   He works, doesn't he?

  She works   She works, doesn't she?

  It works   It works, doesn't it?

  We work   We work, don't we?

  They work   They work, don't they?

e The verb To Have

It should be noted that, particularly in British English, in the case of the Simple Present and

Simple Past of the verb to have, questions and negative statements are sometimes formed in the same way as for the verb to be, without the use of the auxiliary do.

e.g He has a sister, hasn't he?