's' word ending

1. Use a verb without an "s" if the subject is plural.

Many colleges offer scholarships.
I offer you my life. (I and you are used as plural)


2. Use a verb with an "s" if the subject is singular.

The hotel provides excellent service.
My dad provides me with everything I need.

Thank you so much Teacher Eric

You're welcome!

The subject must only be in the third person singular-- 'he, she, it', etc. First and second person singular subjects do not take the '-s' ending either:

I provide excellent service.
You provide excellent service. ('you' here is singular, of course. 'I' is never plural; its plural form is 'we')

Looks like one slipped by me. When I said "I and you are used as plural" I meant that though they are singular, like plural

There is one more condition to be met. Sentences must be in the PRESENT tense.

There are some tricky patterns too. You may think of them as exceptions.

Exception 1.
It is [necessary/important/essential/imperative/...] that S + V
In this pattern, V never takes '-s.' It's always a root verb.

ex) It's important that he see (not sees) a doctor as soon as poss

What you are referring to is the subjunctive mood. I'll let the grammar experts step in to explain this further.

Right.

I know grammar books say they are the subjunctive patterns.
But it's hard for the uninitiated to grasp what logic lies behind their being classified as the subjunctives. In fact, I myself still don't know. I just remember memorizing them by rote. Could there possibly be a master stroke in getting to the bottom?

There are no masterstrokes, just a lot of digging. Here's a start:


Berk LM (1999). English syntax: from word to discourse (New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-512353-0), pages 149-150:

Subjunctive Mood

Like the term imperative, the term subjunctive refers to a particular verb form. In Old English, special verb forms existed to communicate non-fa