eng5-3.5· UNIT 6. School Time· ~14 min

Present Simple: questions & negatives (he / she / it)

Asking about one person or thing with does, and where the -s goes.

In a positive Present Simple sentence, he, she and it add -s to the verb: 'He takes the bus.' 'She reads books.' 'It opens at 8 a.m.' To ask a question or make a negative, put the helper 'does' in front — and then the -s moves onto the helper and OFF the main verb. 'Does he speak?' 'Does she like robots?' 'Does it have a 3-D printer?' 'He doesn't ride his bike to school.' 'She doesn't watch videos before bed.' The main verb goes back to its plain form every time: speak, like, have, ride, watch. Writing 'Does she likes robots?' puts the -s in twice, and it is the mistake almost every learner makes at this point. The short answers use the helper alone: 'Yes, she does.' 'No, he doesn't.' 'Yes, it does.' Wh- questions work the same way, with the question word first: 'Where does he do projects?' 'When does it open?' 'What does the library have?' Their answers are full sentences — and in those the -s comes back, because the helper is gone again: 'He does projects in the maker lab.' 'It opens at 8 a.m.' 'It has books!'

Key terms

does — The helper for he, she and it in Present Simple questions: 'Does he speak?'
doesn't — The short form of 'does not', used to make negatives: 'She doesn't watch videos.'
third person singular — he, she, it — and any single name or noun you can replace with them.
plain form — The verb with no ending: speak, like, have, ride. It is what follows does and doesn't.
short answer — 'Yes, he does.' / 'No, she doesn't.' — the helper alone.
one -s per sentence — Either the helper carries it or the main verb does — never both.
Where the -s goes
Sentence typeExampleWhich word has the -s
positiveHe takes the bus.the main verb
questionDoes he take the bus?the helper
negativeHe doesn't take the bus.the helper
positiveShe reads books.the main verb
questionDoes she read books?the helper
negativeShe doesn't read books.the helper

The -s never disappears — it moves.

Questions and short answers
QuestionYesNo
Does he speak?Yes, he does.No, he doesn't.
Does she like robots?Yes, she does.No, she doesn't.
Does it have a 3-D printer?Yes, it does.No, it doesn't.
Does Grayson ride his bike to school?Yes, he does.No, he doesn't.
Does Amelia have lunch at the school cafeteria?Yes, she does.No, she doesn't.
Does Elijah take science lab classes?Yes, he does.No, he doesn't.

A name becomes he or she in the answer.

Wh- questions and their answers
QuestionAnswerNote
Where does he do projects?He does projects in the maker lab.no helper in the answer, so -s is back
When does it open?It opens at 8 a.m.opens, with the -s
What does the library have?It has books!has, with the -s
Does Kaylee watch videos before bed?No, she doesn't. She reads books.plain after the helper, -s in the new sentence

Watch the verb change form between the question and the answer.

✎Making a question from a statement
  1. 1The statement: 'Maria likes robots.'
  2. 2Step 1: Maria is she, so the helper is Does: 'Does Maria …'
  3. 3Step 2: take the -s off the main verb: 'likes' → 'like'
  4. 4Step 3: finish it: 'Does Maria like robots?' — 'Yes, she does.'
✎Answering with a correction
  1. 1The question: 'Does Grayson ride his bike to school?'
  2. 2Step 1: the short answer: 'No, he doesn't.'
  3. 3Step 2: say what he really does — a NEW sentence, with no helper: 'He takes the bus.'
  4. 4Step 3: check the -s: 'takes' has it, because there is no helper in that sentence.
🚫Common mistake

'Does she likes robots?' is the classic error. After 'Does' the verb is plain: 'Does she like robots?'

🚫Common mistake

The same applies to negatives: 'He doesn't rides his bike' is wrong. It is 'He doesn't ride his bike.'

🚫Common mistake

Do not answer with the main verb. 'Does she like robots?' — 'Yes, she does.' Not 'Yes, she likes.'

⚠️Caution

Watch the verb across a whole answer: 'No, she doesn't. She reads books.' The first verb is plain because of the helper; the second takes -s because there is none.

💡Note

A single name is he or she: 'Does Elijah take science lab classes?' — 'Yes, he does.'

Rules

  1. 1Question: Does + he/she/it + plain verb …? — 'Does she like robots?'
  2. 2Negative: he/she/it + doesn't + plain verb — 'He doesn't ride his bike to school.'
  3. 3After does or doesn't the main verb NEVER takes -s.
  4. 4Short answers use the helper only: 'Yes, she does.' / 'No, he doesn't.'
  5. 5In a positive statement there is no helper, so the -s goes back on the verb: 'He takes the bus.'
  6. 6Wh- questions put the question word first: 'When does it open?'

Practice

10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard

Up to 10 random questions per test

EasyMediumHardMixed