Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 June 1

= June 1 =

What is the "s" of third person singular verbs called in English grammar terminology?
What is the "s" of third person singular verbs called in English grammar terminology? --93.126.116.89 (talk) 04:05, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
 * See inflection. 2A00:23C0:FCF6:4801:DDEC:AF34:7F4A:D06 (talk) 04:29, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
 * And by the article section Inflection, the “s” in verbs is an inflectional affix (and more specifically an inflectional suffix). It indicates third person, singular number, present tense (or future tense in passages such as “He comes home tomorrow”), and stative aspect (in stative verbs like “knows”) or perfective aspect in constructions like “he talks to her this evening (and then he’s done with it)”, or habitual aspect in passages such “He goes there every Thursday”. Loraof (talk) 14:42, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Sometimes it just acts as these things rather than actually being them. Grammatically, "He comes home tomorrow" is still present tense, and English doesn't really have a perfective aspect. --Theurgist (talk) 21:55, 1 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Can it be called "third person singular inflection", or there's something more acceptable? --93.126.116.89 (talk) 13:59, 2 June 2018 (UTC)

@93.126.116.89: Some dictionaries gives you nearly perfect definitions:

Oxford Dictionary of English:
 * suffix forming the third person singular of the present of verbs

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:
 * verb suffix used to form the third person singular present of verbs

Collins English Dictionary:
 * suffix forming the third person singular present indicative tense of verbs

--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 23:03, 2 June 2018 (UTC)


 * So I'd say the answer to the original questions is "third-person singular present indicative suffix". — Kpalion(talk) 14:39, 6 June 2018 (UTC)