Lesson 2

Negative Sentences in the Present Simple Tense  

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal Verbs (Can, Might, Should, etc.). Example:

• Affirmative: You speak French.
• Negative: You don't speak French.

You will see that we add Don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, You, We or They.

When the subject is He, She or It, we add Doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. Example:

• Affirmative: He speaks German.
• Negative: He doesn't speak German.

Negative Contractions

Don't = Do not

Doesn't = Does not

Examples:
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
She doesn't dance = She does not dance. 

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences 

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Simple Tense using Don't or Doesn't.

Subject	Auxiliary	Verb	The Rest of the sentence
I / You / We / They	don't	have / buy eat / like, etc.	cereal for breakfast
He / She / It	doesn't

Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

• You don't speak Arabic.
• John doesn't speak Italian.
• We don't have time for a rest.
• It doesn't move.
• They don't want to go to the party.
• She doesn't like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense
To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question. 

We add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, You, We or They. Example:

• Affirmative: You speak English.
• Question: Do you speak English?

When the subject is He, She or It, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. Example:

• Affirmative: He speaks French.
• Question: Does he speak French?

We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (Can, Must, Might, Should, etc.)

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 / need want, etc.	a new bike?
Does	He / She / It

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you need a dictionary?
• Does Mary need a dictionary?
• Do we have a meeting now?
• Does it rain a lot in winter?
• Do they want to go to the party?
• Does he like pizza?

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 like fish?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you like chocolate?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they like music?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he write quickly?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she know how to drive?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels?	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.

Now, it's your time to explore and practice in the following link:

Present Simple Tense