Present Simple: Negatives and Questions (do/does)
To make negatives and questions in the present simple, add the helper do (I/you/we/they) or does (he/she/it) plus the base verb. Say 'She does not work' and 'Does she work?' — and never put -s on the main verb after does.
Level: A1. You already know the affirmative present simple (I work, she works). To say the same ideas in the negative or to ask a question, English adds a small helping verb — do or does — and the main verb goes back to its plain base form.
The rule
An auxiliary (or helping verb) is a little verb that carries the grammar so the main verb can stay simple. In the present simple the auxiliary is do for I, you, we, they and does for the third person singular he, she, it.
For a negative, put the auxiliary after the subject and add not: I do not like coffee. / She does not drive. In everyday English these shrink to the contractions don’t and doesn’t.
For a question, move the auxiliary in front of the subject: (subject) do/does becomes Do/Does (subject)…? — Do you work here? / Does he speak French?
The one rule that ties the whole lesson together: the -s lives on the auxiliary, never on the main verb. Because does already carries the third-person -s, the main verb drops it. So it is She works but She doesn’t work and Does she work? — one -s, and only on does.
Negative and question forms
| Subject | Negative | Yes/No question | Wh- question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | don’t work | Do you work? | Where do you work? |
| he / she / it | doesn’t work | Does she work? | Where does she work? |
Notice the main verb (work) is identical in every cell — the subject only changes the auxiliary between do and does.
How to say it
These forms are tiny but fast in speech. Match the sounds English speakers reduce:
| Written form | Usual sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| don’t | /dəʊnt/ (“dohnt”) | one syllable, silent middle |
| doesn’t | /ˈdʌz.ənt/ (“duzzent”) | does sounds like “duz”, not “dooz” |
| do you | /dʒə/ (“d’ya”) | runs together in fast speech: “D’you know?” |
| does he | /dʌzi/ (“duzee”) | the h often disappears after does |
You will always be understood if you say each word fully; the reduced sounds just help you follow native speakers.
Example sentences
- I don't like coffee.Negative with 'I' — don't + base verb.
- You don't need a ticket.'You' takes don't.
- We don't live here.Plural subject — don't.
- They don't speak Spanish.'They' takes don't.
- She doesn't drive.'She' takes doesn't; no -s on drive.
- He doesn't eat meat.'He' takes doesn't + base verb.
- It doesn't work.'It' takes doesn't.
- My brother doesn't smoke.A single person = doesn't.
- Do you work on Saturdays?Yes/no question with 'you'.
- Do they know the answer?Question with 'they'.
- Does she live near you?'Does' + base verb 'live'.
- Does he play the guitar?Third person question.
- Where do you live?Wh- question: wh-word + do + subject + base verb.
- What does this word mean?Wh- question with does.
- When does the shop open?'The shop' = it, so does.
- Why don't they come earlier?Negative wh- question.
- How often does she visit?'How often' asks about frequency.
- Do you want tea or coffee?An offer framed as a question.
- Does your sister speak English?'Your sister' = she = does.
- I don't understand the question.Everyday negative.
Common mistakes
- ❌ She doesn’t works here. → ✅ She doesn’t work here. The -s is on does, so the main verb stays base.
- ❌ Does he goes to school? → ✅ Does he go to school? Same rule in questions: no second -s.
- ❌ I no like it. → ✅ I don’t like it. English negates with don’t/doesn’t, not a bare no.
- ❌ You work here? (asking) → ✅ Do you work here? A yes/no question needs the auxiliary at the front.
- ❌ Where she lives? → ✅ Where does she live? A wh- question still needs do/does and a base verb.
- ❌ Does she can swim? → ✅ Can she swim? Modal verbs like can make their own questions — no do/does.
A short conversation
A: Does your brother live in London? B: No, he doesn’t. He lives in Leeds. A: And what does he do there? B: He teaches maths. He doesn’t like the cold, though!
Usage notes
- Contractions. Don’t and doesn’t are standard in speech and informal writing. The full forms do not / does not sound emphatic or formal: I do not agree.
- Short answers. English rarely answers a yes/no question with a bare Yes/No. Keep the auxiliary: Do you smoke? — No, I don’t. / Does she drive? — Yes, she does. You never repeat the main verb.
- Wh- questions about the subject. When the wh-word is the subject, you drop the auxiliary: Who lives here? (not Who does live here?). This is the one wh- question that behaves like an affirmative.
- Negative questions. Why don’t you…? and Doesn’t she…? often express surprise or a suggestion: Why don’t we take a taxi?
Compared with…
- Past simple negatives and questions use the same pattern but with did/didn’t for every subject, and again the main verb returns to its base form: She didn’t work / Did she work? The logic is identical — only the auxiliary changes tense. See Past Simple: Negatives and Questions (did).
- Before this lesson, be sure you are comfortable with the Present Simple: Affirmative and the -s Ending, because the negative and question forms are built directly from it.
Quick recap before you practise.
Practice
Negatives and questions practice
Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.
Hint: third person singular auxiliary
Show answer
Does — 'She' is third person singular, so the auxiliary is does.
3 Put the words in order to make a correct question.
Show answer
Where do you work — Wh-word + auxiliary + subject + base verb: Where do you work?
4 Match each subject to its negative auxiliary.
- I
- they
- she
- it
Show answer
- I → don't
- they → don't
- she → doesn't
- it → doesn't
I/you/we/they take don't; he/she/it take doesn't.
Hint: keep the auxiliary
Show answer
do — Short answers repeat the auxiliary, not the main verb: Yes, I do.
Quiz
Present simple negatives and questions quiz
12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.
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Show answer
don't work — 'They' takes don't, and the main verb stays base: don't work.
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Show answer
doesn't eat — 'She' takes doesn't + base verb: doesn't eat.
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Show answer
Does she live here? — Does + subject + base verb: Does she live here?
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Show answer
do — 'Your parents' is plural, so the auxiliary is do.
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Show answer
He doesn't play tennis. — The -s moves to does, so the main verb is base: doesn't play.
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Show answer
Yes, he does. — Short answers keep the auxiliary: Yes, he does.
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Show answer
She don't know. — 'She' is third person singular and needs doesn't: She doesn't know.
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Show answer
does — 'This word' = it, so the auxiliary is does.
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Show answer
Do — 'You' takes the auxiliary do: Do you want some help?
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Show answer
Does — 'It' is third person singular, so the auxiliary is does.
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Show answer
Who lives here? — When the wh-word is the subject, drop the auxiliary: Who lives here?
-
Show answer
don't — 'We' takes don't; a negative question like this often makes a suggestion.
Recap cheat-sheet
| Form | I / you / we / they | he / she / it |
|---|---|---|
| Negative | don’t + base verb | doesn’t + base verb |
| Yes/No question | Do … + base verb? | Does … + base verb? |
| Short answer | Yes, I do. / No, I don’t. | Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t. |
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All English grammar topics
Every grammar point in order, from your first sentence to advanced structures. Pick one and go straight to it. New lessons go live every day, so topics marked Coming soon fill in over the next weeks.
Grammar path
A1 30 topics · 30 ready
- 01 Verb 'To Be' in the Present (am, is, are)
- 02 Subject Pronouns: I, You, He, She, It, We, They
- 03 Present Simple: Affirmative and the -s Ending
- 04 Present Simple: Negatives and Questions (do/does) You are here
- 05 Articles: a / an and When to Use Each
- 06 The Definite Article 'The': When to Use It
- 07 Zero Article: When to Use No Article
- 08 Plural Nouns: Regular and Irregular Forms
- 09 This, That, These, Those (Demonstratives)
- 10 Possessive Adjectives: my, your, his, her
- 11 Possessive 's and s' (Showing Belonging)
- 12 There Is / There Are (Saying What Exists)
- 13 Have Got: Talking About Possession
- 14 Can and Can't for Ability
- 15 Present Continuous (am/is/are + -ing)
- 16 Imperatives: Giving Orders and Instructions
- 17 Adjectives: Position and Basic Use
- 18 Prepositions of Place: in, on, at
- 19 Prepositions of Time: in, on, at
- 20 Question Words: What, Where, When, Who, Why, How
- 21 How Much vs How Many
- 22 Countable and Uncountable Nouns
- 23 Some and Any: Which One to Use
- 24 Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, us, them
- 25 Adverbs of Frequency and Their Position
- 26 Like, Love, Hate + -ing (Expressing Preferences)
- 27 Would Like: Polite Wants and Offers
- 28 Making Requests: Can, Could, May I
- 29 Past Simple of 'To Be' (was / were)
- 30 Let's and Shall We: Making Suggestions
A2 25 topics · 25 ready
- 31 Past Simple: Regular Verbs and -ed Spelling
- 32 Past Simple: Irregular Verbs (go, see, have)
- 33 Past Simple: Negatives and Questions (did)
- 34 Comparative Adjectives (bigger, more expensive)
- 35 Superlative Adjectives (the biggest, the most)
- 36 Going To: Plans and Predictions
- 37 Will: Predictions, Decisions and Offers
- 38 Present Continuous for Future Arrangements
- 39 Present Perfect for Experience (ever / never)
- 40 Present Perfect with just, already, yet
- 41 Present Perfect vs Past Simple
- 42 Have To and Don't Have To (Obligation)
- 43 Should and Shouldn't for Advice
- 44 Could: Past Ability and Polite Use
- 45 Much, Many, A Lot Of
- 46 A Few, A Little, Few, Little
- 47 Adverbs of Manner (quickly, well, hard)
- 48 Verb + -ing or Verb + to (Introduction)
- 49 Zero Conditional (Facts and Rules)
- 50 First Conditional (Real Future Possibility)
- 51 Prepositions of Movement (to, into, through)
- 52 Possessive Pronouns: mine, yours, hers
- 53 Past Continuous (was/were + -ing)
- 54 Too and Enough (Degree)
- 55 Order of Adjectives Before a Noun
B1 27 topics · 27 ready
- 56 Past Continuous vs Past Simple
- 57 Used To and Would for Past Habits
- 58 Present Perfect Continuous (have been -ing)
- 59 Present Perfect: Simple vs Continuous
- 60 Past Perfect (had + past participle)
- 61 Second Conditional (Unreal Present/Future)
- 62 Third Conditional (Unreal Past)
- 63 Reported Speech: Statements (Backshift)
- 64 Reported Questions
- 65 Reported Commands and Requests
- 66 Passive Voice: Present and Past Simple
- 67 Must and Mustn't (Strong Obligation)
- 68 May, Might, Could for Possibility
- 69 Defining Relative Clauses (who, which, that)
- 70 Non-Defining Relative Clauses (with commas)
- 71 Gerunds and Infinitives: Full Verb Patterns
- 72 Verbs Where -ing vs to Changes Meaning
- 73 Future Continuous (will be -ing)
- 74 So and Such (Emphasis)
- 75 As...As Comparisons (equality)
- 76 Question Tags (isn't it? do you?)
- 77 Phrasal Verbs: Separable and Inseparable
- 78 Linking Words: because, so, although, but
- 79 Infinitive of Purpose (to / in order to)
- 80 Indirect Questions (Can you tell me...)
- 81 Make, Let, Allow, Help (Causatives Intro)
- 82 Be Used To and Get Used To (+ -ing)
B2 25 topics · 25 ready
- 83 Narrative Tenses for Storytelling
- 84 Past Perfect Continuous (had been -ing)
- 85 Mixed Conditionals
- 86 Wish and If Only (Regrets and Wishes)
- 87 Wish/If Only + would (Complaints)
- 88 Passive Voice: All Tenses and Modals
- 89 Reporting Passive (It is said that / is said to)
- 90 Causative: Have/Get Something Done
- 91 Reduced Relative Clauses (Participles)
- 92 Modals of Deduction: Present and Past
- 93 Needn't Have vs Didn't Need To
- 94 Future Perfect (will have done)
- 95 Participle Clauses (-ing / -ed / having done)
- 96 Advanced Comparatives (far/much + er, the more)
- 97 Conditional Alternatives: unless, as long as, provided
- 98 Advanced Determiners: each, every, either, neither
- 99 Intensifiers and Adverbs of Degree
- 100 Advanced Contrast: despite, in spite of, however
- 101 Advanced Linkers: therefore, moreover, consequently
- 102 Advanced Article Use (generalisations, names)
- 103 Verb + Preposition and Adjective + Preposition
- 104 Relative Clauses: whose, where, when, quantifier + whom
- 105 Subject-Verb Agreement: Tricky Cases
- 106 Emphatic Do (I do like it)
- 107 Would for Past Habits (Formal Narrative)
C1 18 topics · 18 ready
- 108 Inversion with Negative Adverbials
- 109 Inversion in Conditionals (Had I known)
- 110 Cleft Sentences (It was... / What I need is...)
- 111 Fronting and Emphasis (Word Order)
- 112 Subjunctive and Mandative (I suggest he be)
- 113 Ellipsis and Substitution (so, do, one)
- 114 Hedging and Cautious Language
- 115 Nominalisation (Academic Noun Style)
- 116 Advanced Discourse Markers (Spoken & Written)
- 117 Advanced Passive (passive + infinitive, get-passive)
- 118 Advanced Comparative Structures (no sooner...than)
- 119 Future in the Past (was going to / would)
- 120 Advanced Modals (may well, might as well, would rather)
- 121 Advanced Reported Speech (Reporting Verbs + Patterns)
- 122 Advanced and Idiomatic Phrasal Verbs
- 123 Collocation and Colligation (Natural Combinations)
- 124 Advanced Concession (much as, whatever, however + adj)
- 125 Absolute and Non-Finite Clauses (Formal)