Third Person Singular: Guide & Examples

The first thing that we need to understand is that the third person singular is a topic that belongs to the simple present so everything we are studying today applies to that tense.

The pronouns in English are the following:

I	First Person Singular
You	Second Person Singular
We	First Person Plural
They	Second Person Plural
He	Third Person Singular
She	Third Person Singular
It	Third Person Singular

The ones that we are going to focus on today are he, she and it since those three are the ones that belong to the third-person singular category

Table of Contents

Third-Person Singular Conjugation
Third Person Singular: Rules
Third Person Singular: First Rule
Third Person Singular: Second Rule
Third Person Singular: Third Rule
Third Person Singular: Fourth Rule
Examples of Sentences with Verbs in the Third Person
Third Person Singular: Negative Sentences
Third Person Singular: Questions
Video: Third-Person Singular Rules and Examples
Third Person Singular Exercise
Summary: Third Person Singular

Third-Person Singular Conjugation

Now let’s check the conjugation of the verb work

I work in Walmart	I make websites
You work at Walmart	You make websites
They work at Walmart	We make websites
She works at Walmart	They make websites
He works at Walmart	She makes websites
He works in Walmart	He makes websites
It works really well	It makes sense

As you can see, something changes when we are conjugating the verbs using third-person pronouns

Not all the changes are done the same way so let’s check the rules to conjugate verbs in the third person.

Third Person Singular: Rules

We have three rules to create the third-person singular.

Sometimes you have to add an ‘s’
Sometimes you have to add an ‘es’
Sometimes you have to add an ‘ies’
and in some instances, you have an irregular ending

Third Person Singular: First Rule

The first rule requires that you add an “S” to the end of the verb

To want	She wants
To play	She plays
To run	He runs
To make	She makes
To create	Maria creates
To pray	She prays

Third Person Singular: Second Rule

In some instances, you have to add an ‘es’ to the end of the verb

This happens when the verbs end in ss, sh, ch, x o z.

To watch	She watches TV
To fix	Maria fixes cars
To catch	The cat catches mice
To miss	She misses opportunities
To wash	He washes his clothes
To Finish	The class finishes at 6

Third Person Singular: Third Rule

When the verbs en ‘Y’, You have to remove the ‘Y’ and add ‘ies’

To study	She studies Business Administration
To fly	She flies to London every weekend
To cry	He cries every night

Third Person Singular: Fourth Rule

Sometimes you have verbs that don’t follow any patterns

To have	She has a lot of work
To Be	She is at her office

Examples of Sentences with Verbs in the Third Person

These are some examples of the first-person and the third person

I fix computers
She fixes computers

I clean hacked sites
he cleans hacked sites

I provide technical support
She provides technical support

We check emails
She checks emails

They program in HTML
He programs in HTML

I create Facebook campaigns
She creates Facebook campaigns

You share information with clients
She shares information with customers

Third Person Singular: Negative Sentences

Remember that you don’t have to do anything when you make sentences with third-person pronouns

These are some examples of negative sentences

She creates projects
She doesn’t create projects

She takes calls
She doesn’t take calls

He has meetings
He doesn’t have meetings

He writes code
He doesn’t write code

He spends his days off coding
Does he spend his days off coding?

Third Person Singular: Questions

Remember that you don’t have to do anything when you make questions with the third-person pronouns

He writes programs
Does he write programs?

He manages a company
Does he manage a company?

He sells products online
Does he sell products online

He watches streams on Twitch
Does he watch streams on Twitch?

He follows Scammer Payback on Youtube
Does he follow scammer payback on YouTube?

Video: Third-Person Singular Rules and Examples

This is a good video that summarizes the information that we have covered so far

Third Person Singular Exercise

It is time to practice what you have learned

Summary: Third Person Singular

Pay attention to this and remembers the structures

Affirmative	She doesn’t work at Walmart
Negative	Does she work at Walmart
Questions	Does she work in Walmart

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English