1. What is verb conjugation?
‘Verb conjugation’ simply means a verb’s end must match the subject.
2. How to do verb conjugation in the present simple tense
When using the present simple tense, conjugating verbs means:
– ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘we’, or ‘they’ = no extra ending
– ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’ = +s
One exception is the verb ‘be’, where different subjects use different words.
| I | you | we | they | he | she | it | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| be | I am happy | you are happy | we are happy | they are happy | he is happy | she is happy | it is happy |
| like | I like fruit | you like fruit | we like fruit | they like fruit | he likes fruit | she likes fruit | it likes fruit |
| go | I go to class | you go to class | we go to class | they go to class | he goes to class | she goes to class | it goes to class |
| buy | I buy cars | you buy cars | we buy cars | they buy cars | he buys cars | she buys cars | it buys cars |
| take | I take the bus | you take the bus | we take the bus | they take the bus | he takes the bus | she takes the bus | it takes the bus |
| call | I call my dad | you call my dad | we call my dad | they call my dad | he calls my dad | she calls my dad | it calls my dad |
| write | I write books | you write books | we write books | they write books | he writes books | she writes books | it writes books |
| watch | I watch TV | you watch TV | we watch TV | they watch TV | he watches TV | she watches TV | it watches TV |
| have | I have money | you have money | we have money | they have money | he has money | she has money | it has money |
| do | I do homework | you do homework | we do homework | they do homework | he does homework | she does homework | it does homework |
*Note: if a verb ends in o, x, ch, sh. or th, then ‘es’ is usually added
3. Examples of conjugated verbs in the present simple tense
| I like chicken. | She likes chicken. | They like chicken. |
| I am beautiful. | Carl is beautiful. (Carl = he) | Sheryl and I are beautiful. (Sheryl and I = we) |
| You make a lot of money. | The company makes a lot of money. (the company = it) | They make a lot of money. |
| Peter has no friends. (Peter = he) | We have no friends. | Ian and Sophia have no friends. (Ian and Sophia = they) |
| I take the bus every day. | She takes the bus every day. | 2 million people take the bus every day. (2 million people = they) |
4. Test yourself
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