English Tenses. THE PRESENT INDEFINITE.

$1 The formation of the Present Indefinite.

The Present Indefinite is formed from the plain stem of the verb. In the third person singular it has the suffix -s/-es which is pronounced (z) after vowels and voiced consonants (e.g. plays, opens), (s) after voiceless consonants ( e.g. looks, puts) and (iz)- after sibilants (e.g. closes, plases, teaches, wishes).

In writing this following spelling rules should be observed:

1). Verb ending in -y with a preceding consonant change -y into-ies ( e.g. study - studies, try - tries, fly - flies). But if the -y is preceded by a vowel, the suffix -s is added (e.g. play - plays, stay - stays).

2). The suffix -es is added to verbs ending in -o preceded by a constant (e.g. does, goes).

The affirmative form of the Present Indefinite is a synthetic form (e.g. I write, he writes).

But the interrogative and the negative forms are built up analytically by means of the auxiliary verb "to do" in the Present Indefinite ( do, does) and the infinitive of the notional verb without the particle to (e.g. Do you write? Does he write? I do not write. He does not write.) In spoken English the contracted negative forms don't and doesn't should be used. The Present Indefinite may have a special affirmative for emphasis. This emphatic from is built up analytically by means of the Present Indefinite of the auxiliary verb "to do " followed by the infinitive of the notional verb without the particle "to ". The auxiliary verb is heavily stressed in this case (e.g. I ' do insist on it. She 'does insist on it.)