English Lessons: Do vs Does

English Lessons: Do vs Does

English Lessons: Do vs Does

English Lessons: Do vs Does:

We use Do or Does to make a question in English. It is usual put at the beginning of the question before the subject. (simple present tense)

Affirmative:     You speak English.
Question:          Do you speak English?

We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they, and we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question.

Affirmative:    He speaks English.
Question:        Does he speak English?

We use DOES when the subject is he, she or it, and we add DOES at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question.

Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) remove it in the question. We will see the reason why below.

• [message]
• Exceptions:
• We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.).

Short Answers with Do and Does:

It is possible to give short answers to direct questions that use Do/Does:

Do you speak English?           Yes, I do.         No, I don't.
Do we speak English?           Yes, we do.         No, we don't.
Do they speak English?           Yes, they do.         No, they don't.

Does he speak English?            Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.
Does she speak English?            Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.

You can't use the short answers above to respond to the question, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question.

Question Words with Do and Does:

This is the order for making sentences with questions words is the following:

What             do          you                have for lunch?
What            does        she                have for lunch?
Where          do           they               live?
When           do           you                study?
How             do           you                go to school everyday?