Is it -s, -es or -ies? Easy 3rd Person Singular Verb Ending Rules

A big red 's' surrounded by the words 'he', 'she', 'it' and flowers, illustrating the rules for 3rd person singular (-s) in English.

With he, she and it we need and extra '-s' ending for verbs in present simple tense.

Rules for Adding 's' to Verbs in Third (3rd) Person Singular

In the present simple tense, we add 's' (or sometimes 'es') to the base form of the verb only for he, she, or it (third person singular).

Here are the rules:

For most verbs, just add 's':

I play → He plays
I sing → She sings
I run → It runs

For verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -o, add 'es':

I pass → He passes
I wash → She washes
I watch → It watches
I fix → He fixes
I go → She goes

For verbs ending in consonant + y, change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es':

I try → He tries
I cry → She cries
I fly → It flies

For verbs ending in vowel + y, just add 's':

I play → He plays
I say → She says

Some irregular verbs:

I have → He has
I do → She does /dʌz/

Remember, this 's' or 'es' is only added for he, she, or it, not for I, you, we, or they.

Examples in sentences:

I sing a song. → He sings a song.
You wash the car. → She washes the car.
We study English. → He studies English.
They play football. → It plays with the ball.

Now explore the 10 Most Common English Verbs for beginners!

Find out How to Form Present Simple and Present Continuous

and How to Use Present Simple vs Continuous Correctly

Continue to the Beginner Level English Resources for more topics and tips