Quick Help: Editing for {em}-s{/em} and {em}-es{/em} endings

Quick Help: Editing for {em}-s{/em} and {em}-es{/em} endings

Editing for -s and -es endings

If you tend to leave off or misuse the -s and -es verb endings in academic writing, check for them systematically.

  1. Underline every verb, and then circle all of the verbs in the present tense.
  2. Find the subject of every verb you circled.
  3. If the subject is a singular noun; he, she, or it; or a singular indefinite pronoun, be sure the verb ends in -s or -es. If the subject is not third-person singular, the verb should not have an -s or -es ending.
  4. Be careful with auxiliary verbs such as can or may. These auxiliaries are used with the base form, never with the -s or -es form (39b).