Don't or doesn't?
Same split as do and does, and the same consequence: the verb that follows keeps its plain form.
The short answer
Use doesn’t with he, she, it and single things. Use don’t with I, you, we, they and plurals. The verb after them is always plain: she doesn’t want, never doesn’t wants.
Which one do you need?
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I, you, we, they, several things | don't | They don't smoke. |
| he, she, it, one thing | doesn't | He doesn't smoke. |
| any subject, past | didn't | They didn't smoke. |
Practice the choice
Loading…
Getting your first question ready.
Side by side
Three sentences for each form, taken from the 450 sentences this drill uses. The answer is highlighted.
don't
- They don't like to swim in cold water.
- I don't know the answer to this question.
- The students don't understand the difficult concepts.
doesn't
- This train doesn't stop at every station.
- The bakery doesn't sell bread on Mondays.
- My sister doesn't play the piano very well.
The split
Doesn’t is does not, so it goes exactly where does goes: he, she, it, one thing. Don’t is do not, and covers everything else.
In the past both collapse into one form. Didn’t works with every subject, which makes the past easier than the present:
- He doesn’t know. → He didn’t know.
- They don’t know. → They didn’t know.
The verb after it
Plain form, always:
- She doesn’t work here.
- It doesn’t make sense.
- He didn’t want to come.
No -s, no -ed, nothing. The auxiliary carries the tense and the agreement; the main verb carries the meaning.
He don’t
You will hear he don’t constantly — in blues lyrics, in dialogue, across whole regions of the English-speaking world. It is a real feature of real dialects, not a slip. It is also marked as an error in every exam and every edited text. Know it, recognize it, and write doesn’t.
Doesn’t or isn’t?
Doesn’t negates ordinary verbs. Isn’t negates be:
- He doesn’t work. — the verb is work
- He isn’t working. — the verb is be, with working after it
- He isn’t a plumber. — the verb is be
Both in one phrase — he doesn’t is — is never possible.
Negative questions
Doesn’t and don’t lead negative questions, which usually expect agreement:
- Doesn’t she live here any more?
- Don’t you want to come?
The answer to a negative question is the same as to the positive one: yes means she does, no means she doesn’t.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: He don't care. correct: He doesn't care.
He takes doesn't. He don't is widespread in songs and in speech, and marked wrong in writing.
Wrong: She doesn't likes it. correct: She doesn't like it.
The -s is already on doesn't. The main verb goes back to its plain form.
Wrong: It doesn't matters. correct: It doesn't matter.
Same rule: one -s per verb phrase, and it sits on the auxiliary.