First, second and third person (in English)

Content

• Present
• Past
• More first, second and third person examples in English

In grammar, persons are grammatical features that indicate a relationship between persons / objects and the speech act.

When a verb is conjugated in the first person, it means that it is being performed by the same speaker (issuer) or by a group of individuals among whom is the speaker.

The first person can be:

• First person singular: I / I
• First person plural: We / we

When a verb is conjugated in the second person, who executes the action is the listener or reader (receiver).

The second person can be:

• Second person singular: You / Tú, tú, vos
• Second person plural: You / You, you

In other words, in English the second person has the same form for both the plural and the singular. Whether it refers to a singular "you" or a plural "you" is something that must be understood in context.

When conjugating a verb in the third person, the person who performs the action is neither the sender nor the receiver of the message. That is, someone who is outside the speech act.

The third person can be:

• Third person singular: He, she, it / He, she
• Third person plural: They / They, they

In English, the conjugation of verbs in almost all tenses remain unchanged for different grammatical persons. Example:

1. I went to France last year. / I went to France last year. (First person)
2. You went to France last year. / You went to France last year. (Second person)
3. I have went to France last year. / He went to France last year. (Third person)
4. They went to France last year. / They went to France last year. (Third person)

As can be seen in the example, while in Spanish the verbs vary for each person, in English they remain unchanged.

However, in the present tense the verbs are conjugated with a small variation in the third person singular:

1. I play tennis. / I play tennis. (First person singular)
2. You play tennis. / You play tennis. (Second person singular)
3. We play tennis. / We to tennis. (First person plural)
4. You play tennis. / You play tennis. (Second person plural)
5. They play tennis. / They play Tennis. (Third person plural)
6. I have plays tennis. / He plays tennis. (Third person singular)
7. She plays tennis. / She plays tennis. (Third person singular)

There are also irregular verbs such as to be (to be, to be) or can (to be able) that have specific forms.

In the case of can, it does not change in the third person singular:

1. I can sing very well. / I can sing very well. (First person singular)
2. You can sing very well. / You can sing very well. (Second person singular)
3. She can sing very well. / She can sing very well. (Third person singular)
4. He can sing very well. / He can sing very well. (Third person singular)

In the case of the verb to be, it has more diverse forms in the present and the past simple.

Present

1. I am / I am, I am (First person singular)
2. You are / You are, you are (Second person singular)
3. He is / He is, he is (Third person singular)
4. She is / She is, she is (Third person singular)
5. We are / We are, we are (First person plural)
6. You are / You are, you are (Second person plural)
7. They are / They are, they are (Third person plural)

Past

1. I was / I was, I was (First person singular)
2. You were / You were, you were (Second person singular)
3. He was / He was, he was (Third person singular)
4. She was / She was, she was (Third person singular)
5. We were / We were, we were (First person plural)
6. You were / You were, you were (Second person plural)
7. They were / They were, they were (Third person plural)

More first, second and third person examples in English

1. I am very happy to see you. / I'm very happy to see you (First person singular)
2. We were not ready for the test. / We weren't ready for the exam (First person plural)
3. My aunt can take me home in her car. / My aunt can take me home in her car (Third person singular)
4. Come on! You can do it! / Let's go! You can do it! (Second person singular)
5. The little girl had a nightmare last night. / The little girl had a nightmare last night (Third person singular)
6. They will not accept the deal / They will not accept the deal. (Third person plural)
7. You all have been very helpful. / You have all been very helpful. (Second person plural)
8. Can I stay up late? / Can I stay up late? (First person singular)
9. The dog is very thirsty. / The dog is very thirsty. (Third person singular)
10. He likes icecreams. / He likes ice cream. (Third person singular)
11. We learned many things. / We learned many things. (First person plural)

Andrea is a language teacher, and on her Instagram account she offers private lessons by video call so that you can learn to speak English.