Whenever we talk about actions, we use the words do, does and did. Do and does represents the simple present forms of the verb ‘do’, while did is its simple past form. These are primarily used to form negative and interrogative sentences. Do is used with personal pronouns, I, we, you, they. On the other hand, does is used with personal pronouns he, she and it. Let’s take an example to understand the two:
- Do it as he does.
- I do have some work, but she doesn’t have any.
The first example is an imperative sentence, so it starts with ‘do’, secondly does is used with the third person. In the next example we have used ‘do’ with the first person, to put the emphasis, while in the second part of the sentence, does is again used with the third person to put the emphasis.
There are only a few differences between do and does, which we are going to discuss in this article. Let’s have a look.
Content: Do Vs Does
- Comparison Chart
- Definition
- Key Differences
- Examples
- How to remember the difference
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Do | Does |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Do is an action verb, commonly used to form negative and interrogative sentences. | Does is the third person singular present of the verb 'do'. |
| Pronunciation | duː | dʌz |
| Usage with nouns | Plural nouns | Singular nouns |
| Usage with pronouns | I, we, you, they, these, those, etc. | He, she, it, this, that, etc. |
| Imperative sentences | Used to form imperative sentences. | It is not used to form imperative sentences. |
| Example | Do you go to school daily? | Does she like me? |
| Don't you have manners? | It doesn't matter me much. | |
| I do have a problem with you. | Riya does homework daily. |
Definition of Do
Do refers to perform or undertake an action, either on his/her own or in response to the wish of another person. It is an auxiliary verb, which is used with the main verb, to form various types of sentences. Let’s discuss where to use ‘do’ in our sentences:
- To form interrogative sentences:
- Do you know him?
- Do you get the mail?
- To form negative sentences
- I don’t think she is going to come for the party.
- They don’t have any right to call the meeting.
- In positive sentences to emphasize something, i.e. to provide additional information about the main verb:
- You do look sad today.
- They do want to start their own business.
- In imperative sentences, i.e. positive or negative commands:
- Don’t open the door.
- Do your work.
- It can also be used to make tag questions:
- I met Shahrukh Khan at the concert, don’t you?
- To avoid repetition of a verb or verb phrase:
- May I help you? Please do
- Suzzane likes apples, and so do you.
Definition of Does
Does is nothing but a conjugation of the verb ‘do’, which also means to perform, act or undertake any task or activity, either at his/her own will or as per the will of another person. It is used with the third person to form various kind of sentences. Now let’s take a look at where to use ‘does’ in our sentences:
- To create interrogative sentences:
- Does she go out for a walk?
- Does it work properly?
- To form negative sentences:
- Riya doesn’t want to go Sydney on her vacations.
- He doesn’t care much about what people think.
- In affirmative sentences to give extra force on the main verb:
- She does work hard.
- Akash does go to coaching every day.
- It can also be used to create tag questions:
- She writes well, doesn’t she?
Key Differences Between Do and Does
The difference between do and does are described in the points given below:
- Do is a transitive verb, which has a subject and object. It is an action verb which means to perform, act or carry out any task or activity. On the other hand, does is just a conjugation of the verb ‘do’ which is used with a third person singular present.
- While we use ‘do’ with plural nouns such as teachers, parents, children, judges, dogs, cats etc. but we use does with singular nouns such as my teacher, my mom, the child, the judge, the dog, the cat, etc.
- It is used with personal pronouns, first-person singular ‘I’, plural ‘we’, the second person ‘you’ and third person plural ‘they’. As against, does is also used with athird person singular he/she/it. Moreover, do is also used with demonstrative pronoun these and those whereas does is used with this and that.
- We use ‘do’, to form imperative sentences, i.e. positive or negative commands, but we never use does to create imperative sentences.
Example
Do
- You do cook well.
- They do not look great together.
- I do like Virat Kohli.
Does
- Marina does her exercises early in the morning.
- Harish does not like any kind of interference in his work.
- She does the painting with watercolours.
How to remember the difference
We use ‘do’ and ‘does’ in our sentences when we refer to our hobbies, likes, dislikes, daily routine, habits, and so forth. Do is mainly used in the sentences, when we talk about more than one person, or about ourselves or thing in the second person, but we use does to refer a single person or indicating a third person.
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