Anonymous  +  439080 Mon, 05 Nov 07 05:38 PM Hi, would you be so kind to answer the following: in interrogative sentences the verb shouldn’t take the s, but what about : “what happens next?” why does in this case, the verb “happen” takes the s? Anonymous Verbs

	Grammar Geek  +  439143 Mon, 05 Nov 07 07:40 PM I'm not sure where you came up with this rule about the verb not taking the s, but the verb will agree with the subject (What is he doing here?) or take the third-person singular, as in "What happens next?" Perhaps you are thinking about situation in which you have the verb "to do" in the question: What did he do? What did happen after that? When you have a form of the verb "to do," it will be conjugated, but the other verb will remain in the bare infinitive form - do/happen/etc. That applies to normal declarative as well: It did happen that way! He did not do that. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,660 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Verbs

	CalifJim  +  439192 Mon, 05 Nov 07 09:17 PM in interrogative sentences the verb shouldn’t take the s That's not true when you question the subject. You may find Post:304410 useful, though it may be much more detailed and complex than you need.  Note particularly that if the question word doesn't cross the verb in one of those steps, a do is not introduced and the s stays on the original verb. Not questioning the subject of the sentence: It happens to me. Who does it happen to? ____________ Questioning the subject of the sentence: Something happens. What happens? CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,399 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Verbs