Grammatical Person
In grammar persons are used to show the relationship between the speaker and the listener or the writer and the reader. Pronouns and verb forms can vary depending on which person is being used. Persons can also affect nouns and possessive relationships.
English has 3 grammatical persons in the singular and 3 in the plural:
Singular
Plural
In verbs this translates into different forms:
| Person | regular e.g. | irregular e.g. |
|---|---|---|
| first person singular | I walk | I am |
| second person singular | you walk | you are |
| third person singular | he/she/it walks | he/she/it is |
| first person plural | we walk | we are |
| second person plural | you walk | you are |
| third person plural | they walk | they are |
When a sentence or part of speech (verb, noun, pronoun, etc.) is in the first person singular it refers to the speaker or writer.
When it is in the first person plural it refers to a group that includes the speaker or writer.
If the sentence or part of speech is in the second person they refer to the person we are talking or writing to.
If they are in the third person they refer to someone or something different from the speaker or writer who is being addressed.
Spelling
As mentioned above, verbs add an -s to the end for the third person singular.
If the verb ends in a sibilant sound (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/) however, we add -es to the end:
If the verb ends in -y then we replace this with -ies:
See Also
Lawyer Talking - an activity to practice the 3rd person
