SPELLING RULES FOR THE THIRD PERSON

  


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
study	studies
fly	flies
carry	carries

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
say	says
enjoy	enjoys
buy	buys

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
do	does
echo	echoes
go	goes

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
pass	passes
push	pushes
watch	watches
fix	fixes
buzz	buzzes