Simple present questions

Do vs. Does

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast?
Does	he / she / it

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you speak English?
• Does John speak French?
• Do we have time for a quick drink?
• Does it rain a lot in the South?
• Do they want to come with me?
• Does she like chocolate?

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Do you speak English?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a dictionary?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both 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, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four legs?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.

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

Question Words with Do and Does

The order for making sentences with Questions words is the following:

Question Word	Do/Does	Subject	Verb
What	do	you	have for breakfast?
What	does	she	have for breakfast?
Where	do	you	live?
When	do	you	study?
How	do	you	spell your name?

Exercise 1: Do vs. Does

Exercise 2: Questions in the Simple Present 

Exercise 3: Question Do VS Does