Why Does English Have Different Verb Forms for ‘Do’ and ‘Have/Has’, and ‘Is/Are/Am’?

English linguists do not fix or tinker with language; instead, we observe, describe, and explain the linguistic phenomena around us. This article will delve into the intricacies of why English has such a diversity of verb forms, specifically focusing on do, have/has, and is/are/am.

Observations and Science, Not Ideology

First and foremost, linguists do not engage in ideological changes or “fixes” to languages. Our role is to observe linguistic patterns and explain them through scientific means. The unique 3rd person singular forms for ordinary verbs and the auxiliary verb be are not an imposition by linguists, but a characteristic of the language that has evolved over time.

Modal Auxiliaries: A Special Case

Your question about why certain auxiliaries like can, could, may, might, shall, should, and will do not follow the same form as their subjects touches on a specific area of linguistics. These modal auxiliaries are a finite set and they do not agree in person and number with their subjects. This means that even when negated or followed by an infinitive, they retain their original form.

For example:

Be: A Unique Case of Suppletion

The verb and auxiliary be is a unique linguistic phenomenon due to a process called suppletion. In be, we see a variety of forms such as am, art, is, are, was, and were. These forms are remnants of different verbs in Old English, for instance, went originally being the past tense of wend.

This inconsistency in forms is not unique to be; do and have/has also have irregular forms in the 3rd person singular: does, does, and has, respectively. However, English verbs are known for maintaining this 3rd person singular suffix -s/es in the present tense, making the language statistically unique among world languages.

Statistical Uniqueness of English Verb Forms

English stands out in its preservation of 3rd person singular suffixes in the present tense, which is unusual when compared to other languages. Most languages either have no verb agreement affixes or have full agreement in most tenses. The retention of this unique feature in English has led scholars to argue that Middle English was not a creole of English and Norman French, as some have claimed.

One possible explanation for this peculiarity is the frequent use of verbs in English. Be is a very common verb, and its high frequency may protect it from leveling processes that might otherwise lead to uniformity. However, this phenomenon is limited to the 3rd person singular present tense for ordinary verbs, presenting a unique challenge in understanding the broader linguistic patterns.

Conclusion: The Way It Is

As fooled by randomness, these linguistic peculiarities of English are indeed an intrinsic part of its structure. While we may not fully understand the reasons behind the retention of 3rd person singular suffixes in every case, the be verb's survival is largely due to its high frequency of use, and its complexity in forms such as suppletion.

So, to paraphrase Walter Cronkite, ‘That’s the way it is.’