Do or Does?

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Gateway
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Do or Does?

Unread post by Gateway »

An easy way to explain difference and when to use do or does please?
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Syl
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Re: Do or Does?

Unread post by Syl »

The easiest way is this:

I do
You do
We (or someone and I)do . Example: my father and I, Dan and I, the group and I, etc.
They (or nouns in the plural / names / etc.) do. Example: the boys, Mary and Ann, those schools, etc.

but

He (or: a name - masculine gender, a masculine noun, etc.) does Example: Paul, that man, etc.
She (or a name - feminine gender, a feminine noun, etc.) does Example: Mary, her sister, etc.
It (or whatever isn't a person) does Example: That dog, a tree, hope, New York, etc.

There's more to say about the use of subject pronouns (I, you, etc.) but you asked only about the difference between do and does, so this will do. :D
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fhahjee
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Re: Do or Does?

Unread post by fhahjee »

Could it be argued that "up" is part of a prepositional phrase "up amongst" and not a particle to the verb lift. If I reverse the sentence to say - Up amongst the Gods you lift me. It still makes sense (Although sounds like Yoda) so does this mean I can call "up amongst" a prepositional phrase.
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agnas
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Re: Do or Does?

Unread post by agnas »

Hi,

a pretty cool app to improve spelling and grammar : bit.ly/LearnEnglishFreeApp , which helped me to learn about do and does. So:

Do and does are used when we want to ask yes/no questions.

We use do or does depending on the subject. Below are two sentences with two different subjects, she and you.

Does she like sport? Yes, she does.

Do you like sport? Yes, I do.

Do

We use do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

Do I know you?

Does

We use does with third person singular pronouns i.e when the subject is he, she or it.

Does he work with you?

Past Tense

Did is the past form of both do and does.

Did he call you?

Negatives

The negative form of do is do not. In spoken English it is common to use the contracted form of do not which is don't.

I do not like sport.


The negative form of does is does not. Also, in spoken English we usually use the contracted form of does not which is doesn't.

He does not like sport.


The negative form of did is did not or when speaking, didn't.

I did not know you were coming.
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