Grammar A1: ⚙️ Verbs in Depth: ⏳ Present Simple Tense (Action Verbs) - Lesson 2: Present Simple - Adding '-s' to Verbs (he, she, it: He likes, She plays)

✨ Lesson 2: Present Simple - Adding '-s' to Verbs

In our last lesson, we learned to use the Present Simple for habits. We know that for 'he', 'she', and 'it', we add an '-s' to the verb.

Today, we will learn the special spelling¹ rules² for how to add that '-s' correctly.

Rule 1: Most Verbs → Add '-s'

For most verbs in English, we simply add -s.

• work → works (He works at a hotel.)
• live → lives (She lives in Kampot.)
• eat → eats (The cat eats fish.)

Rule 2: Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -z → Add '-es'

If the verb ends with a "hissing" or "buzzing" sound, we add -es to make it easier to pronounce.

• watch → watches (He watches the sunset.)
• wash → washes (She washes her clothes.)
• miss → misses (He misses his family.)
• fix → fixes (The mechanic fixes motorcycles.)

Rule 3: Verbs ending in [Consonant] + y → Change 'y' to '-ies'

If the verb ends in a consonant³ and then 'y', we change the 'y' to -ies.

• study → studies (She studies English every day.)
• try → tries (He tries to cook new food.)

Be Careful! If the verb ends in a vowel⁴ and then 'y', we just add '-s'.

play → plays (He plays football.)

A Few Irregular Verbs⁵

Some very common verbs are special and you must remember them.

• go → goes (She goes to the market.)
• do → does (He does his homework.)
• have → has (It has a nice color.)

🧠 Practice Quiz: What is the Correct Form?

Write the correct third-person singular ('he/she/it') form for each verb.

1. She (wash) ________ the dishes.
   → washes
2. He (study) ________ very hard.
   → studies
3. The bus (go) ________ to Phnom Penh.
   → goes
4. My brother (play) ________ football.
   → plays
5. It often (rain) ________ in the wet season.
   → rains

📝 Homework: Complete the Story

Complete the story about a man in Kampot by writing the correct verb form in each space.

---

My uncle (live) _______ in a small house by the river. Every morning, he (get) _______ up early and (go) _______ fishing. He (try) _______ to catch big fish. In the afternoon, he (fix) _______ his fishing net and (watch) _______ TV. He is a happy man.

(Answers: lives, gets, goes, tries, fixes, watches)

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Spelling: (Noun) - អក្ខរាវិរុទ្ធ (âk'khâ'ra'vĭ'rŭt) - The correct order of letters in a word. ↩
2. Rule: (Noun) - វិធាន (vĭthéan) - An instruction that says how something must be done. ↩
3. Consonant: (Noun) - ព្យញ្ជនៈ (pyeang'cho'neak) - A speech sound like 'b', 't', or 'm'. Most letters are consonants. ↩
4. Vowel: (Noun) - ស្រៈ (srak) - A speech sound like 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u'. ↩
5. Irregular Verb: (Noun) - កិរិយាស័ព្ទមិនទៀងទាត់ (kĕ're'ya'sap mĭn tieng'toăt) - A verb that does not follow the normal rules. ↩