Spelling Rules
Mary W. Ng
July 24, 2009
The Base Form and the s-Form
The base form of a verb has no added ending.
| Verb | Base Form |
|---|---|
| employ | employ |
| frolic | frolic |
| get | get |
| hope | hope |
| jerk | jerk |
Some verbs form their s-form by adding s to the base form.
| Base Form | s-Form |
|---|---|
| employ | employs |
| frolics | frolics |
| get | gets |
| hope | hopes |
| jerk | jerks |
Other verbs form their s-form by adding es. Here are some spelling rules for forming the s-form of verbs:
-
For verbs ending in ch, sh, ss, z, zz, x, and o, add es.
Base Form s-Form catch catches push pushes miss misses blitz blitzes jazz jazzes fix fixes do does -
For verbs ending in a consonant plus y, change the y to i and add es.
Base Form s-Form reply replies pity pities deny denies try tries