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19
§ 16. Formation. Some of the forms of the present indefinite are synthetic (affirmative forms), some -
analytic (interrogative and negative forms).
Affirmative forms for all persons singular and plural except the 3rd person singular coincide with the
infinitive stem: to speak - I speak, you speak, they speak.
The 3rd person singular form is built from the same stem by means of the inflexion -s, -es: to speak [spi:k] -
he speaks [spi:ksj; to land [l?nd] - he lands [l?ndz]; to wish [wI?] - he wishes [?wI?Iz].
As can be seen from the above examples, the pronunciation and spelling of the inflection of the 3rd person
singular vary:
1.
Verb stems ending in vowels and voiced consonants (except voiced sibilants and affricates) take the
inflection -s which is pronounced [z]:
to see [si:]
to play [ple?]
to stir [st?]
to come [k?m]
-
he sees [si:z]
-
he plays [ple?z]
-
he stirs [st?:z]
- he comes [k?mz].
The 3rd person singular of the verb to say (says) is pronounced [sez].
In verb stems ending in the letter and preceded by a consonant the letter is replaced by the letters ie:
to try [tra?]
to carry ['k?r?]
- he tries [tra?z]
- he carries ['k?r?z].
The verbs to go and to do and their compounds (to forego, to overdo, etc.) take the inflexion [z] spelled as
-es:
to go [gou] - he goes [gouz],
the verb to do (and its compounds) changes its root vowel:
to do [du:]
to overdo ['ouv?du]
- he does [d?z],
- he overdoes ['ouv?d?z].
The 3rd person singular of the verb to have is has [h?z].
2.
Verb stems ending in voiceless consonants (except voiceless sibilants and affricates) take the inflexion -s
pronounced [s]:
to work [w?:k]
to hope [houp]
- he works [w?:ks]
- he hopes [houps]
3. Verb stems ending in sibilants and affricates take either the inflexion -s or -es. Both are pronounced [?z]:
a)
-es if the final letters of the stem are -s, -sh, -ss, -x, -z, -zz, -ch, -tch:
to push [pu?]
to pass [pa:s]
to box [boks]
to buzz [b?z]
- he pushes ['pu?
?
z]
- he passes ['pa:s?z]
- he boxes ['boks?z]
- he buzzes ['b?z?z]