English grammar drills part 19 pps

118 Verb Phrases
Two other verbs have irregular pronunciations in the third-person singular:
do /duw/ (rhymes with two) does /dǝz /(rhymes with buzz)
say /sey/ (rhymes with gay) says /sεz/ (rhymes with fez)
Exercise 8.3
All of the verbs in the following list form their third-person singular in the regular way with a
single sibilant sound pronounced /s/ or /z/ or with a separate unstressed syllable pronounced
/ǝz/. Write the third-person singular form of the noun in the /s/, /z/, or /ǝz/ column depending
on its pronunciation.
Singular
form /s/ /z/ /
әz/
reach reaches
1. race
2. send
3. knock
4. shop
5. eat
6. mention
7. rush
8. approach
9. contain
10. doubt
11. cause
12. clash
13. hedge
14. end
15. freeze
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Basic Verb Forms 119
16. show

17. fail
18. patch
19. allow
20. sign
The spelling of the third-person singular is quite regular, following the same spelling rules as
the plural of regular nouns.
If the verb ends in a sibilant sound, the ending is spelled -es (unless the present-tense verb
already ends in an e, in which case just the -s is added). For example:
Base Third-person singular
box boxes
buzz buzzes
catch catches
clutch clutches
wish wishes
budge budges
If the verb ends in any nonsibilant sound (vowels, voiced and voiceless consonants), then we
merely add -s, for example:
Base Third-person singular
snow snows (ends in vowel)
bring brings (ends in voiced consonant)
result results (ends in voiceless consonant)
The only possible confusion is with verbs that end in a fi nal silent e. For example:
give gives
strike strikes
relate relates
complete completes
At fi rst glance, the fi nal silent e ϩ -s looks just like the -es ending that is used after sibilant
sounds to indicate that the third-person singular -es is pronounced as a separate syllable. For
example, compare the spelling of vote-votes and push-pushes. The spelling of votes is a fi nal silent
e ϩ -s. The spelling of pushes is a sibilant sound /š/ plus a second, unstressed syllable /ǝz/.

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120 Verb Phrases
As was the case with the plural of regular nouns, if the verb ends in a consonant ϩ y, change
the y to i and add -es. For example:
cry cries
deny denies
fl y fl ies
reply replies
spy spies
try tries
However, if the fi nal y is part of the spelling of the vowel sound, then just add an s. For
example:
buy buys
enjoy enjoys
obey obeys
play plays
Exercise 8.4
Write the third-person singular form of the base-form verbs in the fi rst column.
Base form Third-person singular form
please pleases
1. admit
2. supply
3. go
4. leave
5. annoy
6. kiss
7. have
8. match
9. identify
10. declare

11. reduce
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Basic Verb Forms 121
12. approach
13. destroy
14. eliminate
15. convince
Past tense
There are two different types of past-tense forms: regular and irregular. The regular verbs form
their past tense by adding -ed (or -d if the word already ends in e) to the base form.
The -(e)d ending has three different, but completely predictable pronunciations. If the base
ends in either t or d, the -ed is pronounced as a separate syllable /ǝd/ rhyming with bud. Here are
some examples:
-ed pronounced as separate syllable
fainted
goaded
kidded
mended
parted
raided
If the base ends in a voiceless consonant except for t, the -ed is pronounced /t/. The fi nal
voiceless consonants are usually spelled -p, -(c)k, -s, -sh, -(t)ch, -x, -f. and -gh (when pronounced
/f/). Here are some examples:
-ed pronounced /t/
boxed
capped
clutched
coughed
kissed
packed

If the base ends in a vowel or voiced consonant except for d, the -ed is pronounced /d/. Here
are some examples:
-ed pronounced /d/
annoyed
bored
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122 Verb Phrases
called
fanned
grabbed
played
Exercise 8.5
Write the past-tense form of the following verbs in the appropriate column depending on the
pronunciation.
Base /t/ /d/ /әd/
part parted
1. defi ne
2. wash
3. shout
4. range
5. own
6. test
7. grant
8. save
9. compare
10. approve
11. pick
12. extend
13. rule
14. tax

15. permit
The spelling of the regular past tense follows the normal spelling rules. If the base ends in a
stressed syllable with a short vowel, a single fi nal consonant will usually double, according to the
normal spelling rules, for example:
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Basic Verb Forms 123
Base Past tense
hop hopped
rob robbed
rot rotted
sin sinned
If the base form ends in a consonant ϩ -y, the y will change to i before the -ed ending. For
example:
Base Past tense
try tried
supply supplied
rely relied
marry married
justify justifi ed
If the base form ends in y that is part of a vowel sound spelling, keep the y and add -ed. For
example:
Base Past tense
annoy annoyed
enjoy enjoyed
obey obeyed
play played
employ employed
Exercise 8.6
Write the past-tense form of the following base-form verbs.
Base Past tense

imply implied
1. show
2. deny
3. drop
4. vary
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124 Verb Phrases
5. occur
6. hope
7. permit
8. stay
9. apply
10. fl ow
11. slip
12. delay
13. star
14. enjoy
15. dry
Irregular past tenses
The irregular verbs preserve older ways of forming the past tense. In earlier forms of English, the
irregular verbs fell into well-defi ned patterns. By modern times, however, the historical patterns
had collapsed together so that today it is not practical to learn irregular verbs according to their
historical patterns.
Infi nitive
The infi nitive is completely regular (even for the verb be). The infi nitive consists of to followed by
the base form of the verb. Here are some examples:
Base form Infi nitive
be to be
do to do
go to go

have to have
sing to sing
talk to talk
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