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Tntenglishmaster Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

Why isn't it 'haves' for 'has'?

We all know 'has' is the 3rd person, sing, pres of 'have'

All verbs are made by attaching 's' or 'es' to the end of them.

but why didn't 'have' become 'haves'?
  

Top answer

Irregular verbs exist. A historian of the English language could answer your question, but it isn't a concern to most native speakers.

— Philip

  • Irregular verbs exist.
  • A historian of the English language could answer your question, but it isn't a concern to most native speakers.
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3 Answers
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Irregular verbs exist. A historian of the English language could answer your question, but it isn't a concern to most native speakers.
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tntenglishmasterwhy didn't 'have' become 'haves'?
My personal folk etymology has it that originally it was "haves", pronounced /havz/, but over the centuries people found that /vz/ was too much work for the lips and tongue, so they started saying just /z/. Everybody thought it was a good idea because it was easier.

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tntenglishmasterAll verbs are made by attaching 's' or 'es' to the end of them.
This is what you're saying:

To make the verb "find", I must attach 's' or 'es', creating "finds" or "findes". But then what was "find"? Was it not a verb?

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