Abstract: The effect of single top production on the study of top quark pair production in future high energy electron-positron colliders is evaluated. The rate of the single top quark production process is sizeable throughout a large range of center-of-mass energies and the final state cannot easily be distinguished from the dominant pair production process. We discuss the impact on the top quark mass extraction from a scan through the pair production threshold and the determination of top quark form factors in the continuum. These results advocate for the exploration of the inclusive e(+) e(-) -> W(+)bW(-)b(-) process, that includes both top quark pair and single top quark production.