@Gustavo, Co-Moderator posted:I'd call the first one a rule (for the formation of the Present Simple in the third person singular), and the second one, a pattern (for the formation of the Present Continuous).
Hi, Gustavo.
Thank you for your response which is much appreciated.
I asked this 'silly' question because a grammar website I had visited called it a formula. That rattled me because I had learnt them as grammar rules. You've called the second one a pattern, so I'll go with that. Thank you.
@Gustavo, Co-Moderator posted:Please note that after "gh" we add "-s," not "-es": laugh - laughs
Aiyo, Gustavo, this is embarrassing as I should have known that!
Truth be told, I merely copied those word endings (o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z) from a website and pasted it here as a sample of a 'rule/formula'. Now that you've picked up on my gh blunder, I think th and gh shouldn't be there, either. I believe x should also be included in the list, and z should be written as zz.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, Gustavo.
Many thanks.
p.s. Aiyo is listed in the Oxford Learners Dictionary as an exclamation. It is a commonly used word here in Malaysia.