Do vs. Does — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 3, 2023
"Do" and "Does" are auxiliary verbs; "Do" is used with I, you, we, or they, while "Does" is used with he, she, or it. Both assist in forming questions and negatives in the present simple tense.
Difference Between Do and Does
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Key Differences
When exploring "Do" and "Does," we delve into the realm of auxiliary verbs that play crucial roles in English language syntax and structure. "Do" is utilized with the pronouns I, you, we, and they and also with plural nouns. For instance, it acts as a supporting structure in questions and negatives, like in "Do they understand?" or "We do not agree." On the other hand, "Does" is used with he, she, it, or singular nouns, serving a similar grammatical function, as seen in "Does she understand?" or "He does not agree."
Upon further exploration, one might note that "Do" and "Does" are pivotal in crafting interrogative structures and negative statements, but they shine differently when aligned with subject-verb agreement. The word "Do" aligns with plural subjects, ensuring syntactic harmony and enhancing readability and clarity in language use. In contrast, "Does" gracefully accompanies singular third-person subjects, maintaining the equilibrium of subject-verb concord and ensuring the statement remains grammatically intact.
Delving deeper, it's noticeable that "Do" and "Does" also facilitate emphatic affirmations in everyday communication. “Do” can emphasize actions related to plural entities or I and you, for example, “I do want to visit the museum.” Conversely, “Does” emphasizes actions related to third-person singular entities, such as, “She does need to eat now.” Each verb nuances the statement, lending it a subtle intensity and intentional assertion.
In tag questions, another intriguing area emerges where "Do" and "Does" exhibit their distinct functionalities. "Do" constructs tags for affirmative sentences involving plural subjects or the pronouns I and you, for example, “They like ice cream, do they not?” Alternatively, "Does" forms tags for affirmative sentences involving third-person singular subjects, e.g., “She likes ice cream, does she not?” These tags flip the polarity of the statement, beckoning a response.
Moreover, "Do" and "Does," while similar, adapt differently in past tense conversations. "Do" transitions to "Did" to maintain the tense integrity of past actions, questions, or negatives involving all subjects. In contrast, "Does" also becomes "Did" in past tense transformations, seamlessly altering its form while relinquishing its third-person singular specificity. Both embody versatility, adjusting to preserve tense consistency in communication.
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Comparison Chart
Usage with Pronouns
I, you, we, they
He, she, it
Forming Questions
Do you want tea?
Does she want tea?
Forming Negatives
They do not want tea.
He does not want tea.
Emphatic Affirmation
I do understand the context.
She does understand the context.
Tag Questions
You like coffee, do you not?
He likes coffee, does he not?
Compare with Definitions
Do
Indicates a regular action or activity.
I do yoga every morning.
Does
An auxiliary verb used with he, she, or it.
Does he want more coffee?
Do
Used for emphasis in affirmative statements.
I do like that movie!
Does
Employed for emphasis in statements.
He does work hard!
Do
Used in informal speech, often to express exasperation.
Oh, do be quiet!
Does
Sometimes used in short answers.
Does she work here? Yes, she does.
Do
To perform or execute; carry out
Do one's assigned task.
Do a series of business deals.
Does
Used in questions involving he, she, or it.
Does it need more salt?
Do
To fulfill the requirements of
Did my duty at all times.
Does
Utilized to form negatives with he, she, or it.
She does not like the weather.
Do
To perform the tasks or behaviors typically associated with (something), especially as part of one's character or normal duties
That talk show host just doesn't do subtle.
Does
Third person singular present tense of do1.
Do
To participate in (a meal or an activity) with another person
Let's do brunch on Sunday.
Does
Plural of doe
Do
To produce, especially by creative effort
Do a play on Broadway.
Do
To play the part or role of in a creative production
Did Elizabeth I in the film.
Do
To mimic
"doing the Southern voice, improvising it inventively as he goes along" (William H. Pritchard).
Do
To bring about; effect
Crying won't do any good now.
Do
To render; give
Do equal justice to the opposing sides.
Do honor to one's family.
Do
To put forth; exert
Do the best you can.
Do
To attend to in such a way as to take care of or put in order
Did the bedrooms before the guests arrived.
Do
To prepare for further use especially by washing
Did the dishes.
Do
To set or style (the hair).
Do
To apply cosmetics to
Did her face.
Do
To have as an occupation or profession
Have you decided what you will do after college?.
Do
To work out by studying
Do a homework assignment.
Do
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb or verb phrase
He can play the piano, and I can do that, too.
Do
To travel (a specified distance)
Did a mile in four minutes.
Do
To go (a specified rate)
Did 80 mph on the highway.
Do
To make a tour of; visit
"[He] did 15 countries of Western Europe in only a few days" (R.W. Apple, Jr.).
Do
To be sufficient in meeting the needs of; serve
This room will do us very nicely.
Do
(Informal) To serve (a prison term)
Did time in jail.
Did five years for tax fraud.
Do
(Slang) To cheat; swindle
Do a relative out of an inheritance.
Do
(Slang) To take (drugs) illegally
"If you do drugs you are going to be in continual trouble" (Jimmy Breslin).
Do
(Slang) To kill; murder.
Do
Vulgar Slang To have sex with or bring to orgasm.
Do
To behave or conduct oneself; act
Do as I say and you won't get into trouble.
Do
To get along; fare
Students who do well at school.
Do
To carry on; manage
I could do without your interference.
Do
To make good use of something because of need
I could do with a hot bath.
Do
To serve a specified purpose
This coat will do for another season.
Do
To be proper or fitting
Such behavior just won't do.
Do
To take place; happen
What's doing in London this time of year?.
Do
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb
Worked as hard as everyone else did.
Do
Used after another verb for emphasis
Run quickly, do!.
Do
Used with the infinitive without to in questions, negative statements, and inverted phrases
Do you understand? I did not sleep well. Little did we know what was in store for us.
Do
Used as a means of emphasis
I do want to be sure.
Do
A statement of what should be done
A list of the dos and don'ts of management.
Do
(Informal) An entertainment; a party
Attended a big do at the embassy.
Do
A commotion.
Do
A hairdo.
Do
Chiefly British Slang A swindle; a cheat.
Do
(Slang) Fecal matter; excrement.
Do
The first tone of the diatonic scale in solfeggio.
Do
A hairdo.
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker.
Do
(auxiliary) be.}}
Do you go there often?
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods.
I do not go there often.
Do not listen to him.
Do
(auxiliary) A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods.
But I do go sometimes.
Do tell us.
Do
(pro-verb) be, though it can be in AAVE.}}
I play tennis; she does too.
Do
(transitive) To perform; to execute.
All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon?
Do
To cause, make (someone) (do something).
Do
To suffice.
It’s not the best broom, but it will have to do;
This will do me, thanks.
Do
(intransitive) To be reasonable or acceptable.
It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.
Do
(ditransitive) To have (as an effect).
The fresh air did him some good.
Do
(intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly).
Our relationship isn't doing very well;
How do you do?
Do
To fare#Verb well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.
Do
To have as one's job.
What does Bob do? — He's a plumber.
Do
To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something).
"Don't forget to do your report" means something quite different depending on whether you're a student or a programmer.
Do
To cook.
I'll just do some eggs.
Do
(transitive) To travel in, to tour, to make a circuit of.
Let’s do New York also.
Do
(transitive) To treat in a certain way.
Do
(transitive) To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc.
Do
To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself.
Do
(transitive) To spend (time) in jail. (See also do time)
I did five years for armed robbery.
Do
(transitive) To impersonate or depict.
They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer.
Do
(with 'a' and the name of a person, place, event, etc.) To copy or emulate the actions or behaviour that is associated with the person or thing mentioned.
He did a Henry VIII and got married six times.
He was planning to do a 9/11.
Do
To kill.
Do
To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
Do
(informal) To punish for a misdemeanor.
He got done for speeding.
Teacher'll do you for that!
Do
To have sex with. (See also do it)
Do
(transitive) To cheat or swindle.
That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks!
Do
(transitive) To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate.
The novel has just been done into English;
I'm going to do this play into a movie
Do
To finish.
Do
Used to form the present progressive of verbs.
Do
(stock exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
Do
To make or provide.
Do they do haircuts there?
Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup?
Do
To injure (one's own body part).
Do
(transitive) To take drugs.
I do cocaine.
Do
To exist with a purpose or for a reason.
What's that car doing in our swimming pool?
Do
A party, celebration, social function; usually of moderate size and formality.
We’re having a bit of a do on Saturday to celebrate my birthday.
Do
Senseid|en|hairdo}}(informal) {{clip of hairdo
Nice do!
I don't like to spend time on my hairstyle, so I usually just wear a do-rag.
Do
Something that can or should be done.
Don't forget the dos and don'ts.
Do
Something that has been done.
"How come you quit?" "I'm moving to London." "Fair dos."
Do
(archaic) Ado; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument.
Do
A cheat; a swindler.
Do
An act of swindling; a fraud or deception.
Do
A homicide.
Do
(music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale.
Do
(archaic) ditto
Do
The cardinal number occurring after el and before do one in a duodecimal system. Written 10, decimal value 12.
Do
A syllable attached to the first tone of the major diatonic scale for the purpose of solmization, or solfeggio. It is the first of the seven syllables used by the Italians as manes of musical tones, and replaced, for the sake of euphony, the syllable Ut, applied to the note C. In England and America the same syllables are used by many as a scale pattern, while the tones in respect to absolute pitch are named from the first seven letters of the alphabet.
Do
Deed; act; fear.
Do
Ado; bustle; stir; to do.
A great deal of do, and a great deal of trouble.
Do
A cheat; a swindle.
Do
To place; to put.
Do
To cause; to make; - with an infinitive.
My lord Abbot of Westminster did do shewe to me late certain evidences.
I shall . . . your cloister do make.
A fatal plague which many did to die.
We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
Do
To bring about; to produce, as an effect or result; to effect; to achieve.
The neglecting it may do much danger.
He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good not harm.
Do
To perform, as an action; to execute; to transact to carry out in action; as, to do a good or a bad act; do our duty; to do what I can.
Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.
We did not do these things.
You can not do wrong without suffering wrong.
Do
To bring to an end by action; to perform completely; to finish; to accomplish; - a sense conveyed by the construction, which is that of the past participle done.
Do
To make ready for an object, purpose, or use, as food by cooking; to cook completely or sufficiently; as, the meat is done on one side only.
Do
To put or bring into a form, state, or condition, especially in the phrases, to do death, to put to death; to slay; to do away (often do away with), to put away; to remove; to do on, to put on; to don; to do off, to take off, as dress; to doff; to do into, to put into the form of; to translate or transform into, as a text.
Done to death by slanderous tongues.
The ground of the difficulty is done away.
Suspicions regarding his loyalty were entirely done away.
To do on our own harness, that we may not; but we must do on the armor of God.
Then Jason rose and did on him a fairBlue woolen tunic.
Though the former legal pollution be now done off, yet there is a spiritual contagion in idolatry as much to be shunned.
It ["Pilgrim's Progress"] has been done into verse: it has been done into modern English.
Do
To cheat; to gull; to overreach.
He was not be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent.
Do
To see or inspect; to explore; as, to do all the points of interest.
Do
To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note.
Do
To perform work upon, about, for, or at, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, or the like.
The sergeants seem to do themselves pretty well.
Do
To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for.
Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, . . . or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him.
Rarely . . . did the wrongs of individuals to the knowledge of the public.
My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being.As the light does the shadow.
Do
To act or behave in any manner; to conduct one's self.
They fear not the Lord, neither do they after . . . the law and commandment.
Do
To fare; to be, as regards health; as, they asked him how he did; how do you do to-day?
Do
To succeed; to avail; to answer the purpose; to serve; as, if no better plan can be found, he will make this do.
You would do well to prefer a bill against all kings and parliaments since the Conquest; and if that won't do; challenge the crown.
Some folks are happy and easy in mind when their victim is stabbed and done for.
Do
An uproarious party
Do
The syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization
Do
Doctor's degree in osteopathy
Do
Engage in;
Make love, not war
Make an effort
Do research
Do nothing
Make revolution
Do
Carry out or perform an action;
John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters
The skater executed a triple pirouette
She did a little dance
Do
Get (something) done;
I did my job
Do
Proceed or get along;
How is she doing in her new job?
How are you making out in graduate school?
He's come a long way
Do
Give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally;
Cause a commotion
Make a stir
Cause an accident
Do
Carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions;
Practice law
Do
Be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity;
A few words would answer
This car suits my purpose well
Will $100 do?
A 'B' grade doesn't suffice to get me into medical school
Nothing else will serve
Do
Create or design, often in a certain way;
Do my room in blue
I did this piece in wood to express my love for the forest
Do
Behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself;
You should act like an adult
Don't behave like a fool
What makes her do this way?
The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people
Do
Spend time in prison or in a labor camp;
He did six years for embezzlement
Do
Carry on or manage;
We could do with a little more help around here
Do
Arrange attractively;
Dress my hair for the wedding
Do
Travel or traverse (a distance);
This car does 150 miles per hour
We did 6 miles on our hike every day
Do
An auxiliary verb forming negatives/questions.
Do you understand the task?
Do
Serves as a substitute for a verb.
I don’t like tea but I do like coffee.
Common Curiosities
Can "Do" and "Does" be used interchangeably?
No, "Do" is used with I, you, we, they, while "Does" is used with he, she, it.
Are "Do" and "Does" used in present tense?
Yes, both are utilized to form questions and negatives in present simple tense.
How do "Do" and "Does" function in negative sentences?
"Do" and "Does" precede the "not": "do not" or "does not".
Is "Does" applicable with plural subjects?
No, "Does" is used with third-person singular subjects (he, she, it).
Can "Do" be utilized for emphasis?
Yes, e.g., "I do want to come to the party."
Can "Do" indicate habitual actions?
Yes, e.g., "I do exercise every day."
Can "Do" be used for invitations?
Yes, e.g., "Do join us for dinner."
Are "Do" and "Does" main verbs?
Rarely, they're usually auxiliary verbs, supporting main verbs.
How are "Do" and "Does" used in short answers?
As confirmations or denials, e.g., "Do you?" or "Does she?"
Can "Does" be used for third-person plural?
No, "Does" is used exclusively for third-person singular.
How are "Do" and "Does" employed in tag questions?
They are used at the end, e.g., "You do understand, do you not?"
Are "Do" and "Does" active or passive?
Both are active forms and are not used in passive constructions.
Are "Do" and "Does" utilized in past tense?
"Did" is used for past tense, replacing both "Do" and "Does."
Is "Do" employed in imperative sentences?
Yes, "Do" can begin imperative sentences to add emphasis.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
