eslHQ Home
User Name Password
Lost Password? | Join eslHQ.com, it's FREE!
View today's posts
Search Extras Help   

Reply
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Unread Jun 23rd, 2014, 03:09 am
eslHQ Member
 
Join Date: Jun 23rd, 2014
Posts: 1
tagranados is on a distinguished road
Default Dogs hate cats. Why no S on the verb?

I've been explaining all the things I can about s endings to my friend in the Ukraine. It's a never ending conversation.

Does anyone have a simple way to describe why we use the s ending on third person singular and on plurals, but not on the action verb when having a conversation about plurals as in my example in the subject line?

I have gotten too long winded with my friend. Thank you for your thoughts in advance!
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Unread Jun 24th, 2014, 01:13 am
Sue
 
Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006
Location: Milan
Posts: 1,406
susan53 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Dogs hate cats. Why no S on the verb?

First of all, the 3rd person s and plural s are unrelated. They are two different morphemes which by pure chance share the same representation in spelling - just as eg the animal "bear" (noun) is not connected to "bear" (verb) meaning carry. Just because things are spelt the same doesn't necessarily mean they are the same.

The "s" morpheme which is used with nouns indicates plural - ie more than one. It has different variants, including -es (dishes) -en (oxen) and zero (sheep). The -s plural developed from the Old English plural -as

The "s" morpheme which is used with verbs indicates 3rd person singular present tense. It too has different variants, including - es (does) and zero (can). But this doesn't mean it is the same morpheme as the plural s morpheme. It developed from the Old English 3rd person marker -až, which by Middle English had become -eth (hath, giveth, taketh). and then changed to -s.

So basically your question doesn't make sense. It's like asking "A person has legs and can walk. A table has legs too - so why can't it walk?" The legs of a person/animal and the legs of a table are not the same thing.
__________________
An ELT Notebook
The DELTA Course

Last edited by susan53 : Jun 28th, 2014 at 01:42 am.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Unread Jun 29th, 2014, 10:59 pm
FionaVB's Avatar
eslHQ Zealot
 
Join Date: Dec 4th, 2007
Location: Vietnam
Age: 60
Posts: 80
FionaVB is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Dogs hate cats. Why no S on the verb?

I love reading Susan's replies to questions like this. She's such a mine of linguistic diamonds, and it's always explained so fully and clearly. Thank you Susan.
In terms of teaching the 3-P-S 's' and the plural 's', I tell my learners that one grammatical 's' in a sentence is enough. (Now I see that that could be confusing in a sentence like "dogs hate cats"!) But it works for "Cats hate water" and "My cat hates water." EITHER the noun OR the verb should have an 's'. At an elementary/young learners level, that can be a rule of thumb that will get them by until things get more complicated.
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Unread Sep 22nd, 2014, 02:27 am
Pix Pix is offline
eslHQ Zealot
 
Join Date: Jul 19th, 2006
Location: France
Posts: 86
Pix is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Dogs hate cats. Why no S on the verb?

Hi there,

"Dogs hate cats" is a variant of "They hate cats" therefore it is just a regular verb doing the normal thing! He hates, they hate...

All the best
Shelley Ann Vernon
__________________
Kind regards
Shelley
Free games and ideas to make teaching more fun. Receive free games here: www.teachingenglishgames.com
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads Replies
have and be as main / auxiliary verb 2
2 confused new esl teachers 4
cats and dogs 0
Dogs and other Pets 0
Bringing cats 0

Find the Best TEFL, TESL, TESOL & CELTA Certification Courses - User Submitted Ratings & Reviews for Online, Distance & Abroad TEFL Courses. Over 3,500 reviews of 100+ TEFL schools!

Teach English in Thailand - Onsite and Combined TEFL certification courses in Phuket, Thailand.


Free ESL Flashcards


Similar Threads Replies
have and be as main / auxiliary verb 2
2 confused new esl teachers 4
cats and dogs 0
Dogs and other Pets 0
Bringing cats 0


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:53 am.

All materials from this website are for classroom-use only. Digital redistribution of materials, in part or in whole, is strictly forbidden!

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2