What Does vs. What Do
Should we say, “What does Gloria and I have in common?” or “What do Gloria and I have in common?”
If you turn the question around to place the subjects first, you would say, “Gloria and I does/do have what in common.”
Gloria and I are the subjects so we need a plural verb. Which verb is plural? We would say she does but we would say they do. So do is the plural verb. Therefore, the answer is, “What do Gloria and I have in common?”
Try this example: “What does/do the children look like in their costumes?”
If you turn the question around to place the subjects first, you would say, “The children does/do look like what in their costumes.”
Because children is a plural subject, we again need the plural verb do.
Try this example: “What does/do the coach expect from the team?
Turning the question around, we realize that our subject is coach, which is singular. Therefore, we would say, “What does the coach expect from the team?”
Quiz
1. What does/do she look like without makeup?
2. What does/do you and your husband think of the movie?
3. What does/do the team uniform look like?
4. What does/do the team members think of the new coach?
Answers
1. What does she look like without makeup?
2. What do you and your husband think of the movie?
3. What does the team uniform look like?
4. What do the team members think of the new coach?
Posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 3:10 pm
88 Responses to “What Does vs. What Do”
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Hello
Would like to know the rules of ‘ does and do’
Example: Question 1. HOw much does it cost?
Question 2. How much does food leave in a pan?
I realise the last question is incorrect but would kindly like to know the rules of when to use Does & Do
Kind regards
Greg .
“Does” is singular.
Example: How much does it cost? It does cost how much.
“It” is the singular subject so “does” follows.
“Do” is plural.
Example: How do camels walk so far without drinking water? Camels do walk so far without drinking water.
“Camels” is the plural subject so “do” follows.
Captivates or captivate? Orchards is the closest noun to the verb, but it seems like array is the subject and “luscious orchards” is just an additional phrase.
“Our array of luscious orchards captivates you.”
After looking at your examples of subject-verb agreement, it seems that the plural form of the verb is needed, but I just wanted to double check b/c it still does not sound right.
Thanks!
Our array of luscious orchards captivates you.
“Array” is the subject and is singular. “Captivates” is also singular because you’d say “he captivates, they captivate.”
Now if we remove array from this example; will the following be correct:
Luscious orchards captivate you.
“Luscious orchards captivate you” works.
However, “Luscious orchards will captivate you” or “Let our luscious orchards captivate you” would be even better.
Thank you very much. I like your website.
Can you answer this question.
Which is correct:
(1) What time does the movie start?
(2) What time does the movie starts?
What time does the movie start?
When I say “What do you think?” I interpret “you” to be singular. Why isn’t it “What does you think”?
The word “you” always takes a plural verb.
Which of these are correct:
Jesus loves me and so does my teachers!
Jesus loves me and so do my teachers!
“Jesus loves me and so do my teachers.”
Which is correct “do the special teams even have a coach?” I think it is does
“Do the special teams even have a coach?”
Which is correct “Why do the good die young?” or “Why does the good die young?” I believe it’s the first b/c “the good” is referring to a plural group of people however is it even correct to do this?
You are correct for the correct reason.
What’s the difference between will and would?and shall and should.:))
Because I don’t teach English as a Foreign Language, please use another site, such as The Chicago Manual of Style for this information.
Please tell me which is correct:
What don’t the data tell us?
What doesn’t the data tell us?
“What don’t the data tell us?” is correct if the word data is being used in the plural sense as facts or pieces of information.
“What doesn’t the data tell us?” is correct if the word data is being used in the singular sense as a body of facts.
Which one is correct:
How much do two bags of apples cost?
How much does two bags of apples cost?
The correct answer is, “How much do two bags of apples cost?” The bags are plural, which means you need a plural form. Perhaps it is easier to understand if you realize that you would say, “Two bags of apples do cost $5.00,” rather than “Two bags of apples does cost $5.00.”
What is correct:
What does each of the details of the passage have in common?
What do each of the details of the passage have in common?
I say does because the subject is each.
You are correct. Since “each” is singular, you would use “does.”
Which is correct:
Do your patients’ blood look like this?
Does your patients’ blood look like this?
According to MS Word the second is correct.
The word “blood” is a mass noun just like “water” and “milk.” These nouns cannot be pluralized so the correct usage would be “Does your patients’ blood look like this?”
My question is about how the difference between “and” and “or” figures into this.
I already know the correct form is “Do next Monday and Tuesday work for you?”
However, is it “do” or “does” in front of “…next Monday or Tuesday work for you?”
Thank you.
Rule 1 of Subject and Verb Agreement is: Two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a singular verb. Therefore, “Does next Monday or Tuesday work for you?”
Thanks Jane your explanation is simple and very easy to understand, by the way how about “did” when do we suppose to use it?
The word “did” is the past tense of the verb “do.” The good thing is that it is the same for any subject:
I did
You did
We did
He/She did
They did
Help I am correcting a published websites grammar and have got a bit confused is it
What problems do the government investigate?
or
What problems does the government investigate?
I would have thought do but just checking! Thanks
The “government” is considered a collective noun, which denotes a unit. AP Stylebook recommends the use of only a singular verb. The Chicago Manual of Style says that these nouns can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on the emphasis. “A singular verb emphasizes the group; a plural verb emphasizes the individual members.” (5.8) In this case, the government is considered a single unit, so “What problems does the government investigate?” would be correct.
i would like to ask you about this.
“Jack blames the teachers for everything”
or
“Jack blame the teachers for everything”
Thank you very much!
Jack blames the teachers for everything.
could you explain me the differences of do/does in questions with are/is questions? thanks. ^_^
Please give me an example of the kind of question you are asking about.
Please help me resolve a debate between my wife and I (well, in part Microsoft Word and I). Which of the following sentences is correct:
What implications does this have for their communities?
What implications do this have for their communities?
The first seems right to my ears. But isn’t “implications” a plural, thus requiring use of “do?”
The correct sentence would be “What implications does this have for their communities?” The word “implications” is plural, but it is not the subject of the sentence, so the verb does not have to agree with it. If you turn the question around to place the subject first, you would say, “This does have what implications for their communities?”
Since we are talking about grammar, I also need to point out that your first sentence should read, “Please help me resolve a debate between my wife and me (well, in part Microsoft and me).”
What implications does this have to their communities?
as a rejoinder, I think the questions should be phrased as such:
What implications do these have to their communities? These referring to implications.
Since the author of the original inquiry of August 10, 2011, used the word this, we must infer that he was referring to one factor with implications for the community; the opening of a shopping mall or the closing of a post office, for instance. This or these does not refer to implications but to the factor or factors causing implications.
Thank you Jane for this valuable piece of information…it helped me a lot in understanding the difference between ‘do’ and ‘does’….
I am glad to hear that our website has been helpful.
thanks for the info, but still need your help, which is right
Does your parents allows you to join or Do your parents allows you to join?
thanks again
If you turn the question around to place the subjects first, you would say, “Your parents do allow you to join.” Parents is plural, so you use the plural verb do allow, therefore the correct usage is “Do your parents allow you to join?”
what would the correct sentnce.
” other offices does it ” or ”other offices do it”. This has caused an argument btw my wife and myself.
Since offices is a plural subject, you need to use the plural verb do. I’m going to take the liberty of correcting the last part of your comment: “This has caused an argument between my wife and me.”
I’m having a tough time with the use of “do” vs “does” in the possessive “yours”. Do you say “what does yours say?” or “what do yours say?” or would the usage depend on what the “reference” was like “These are my posters. What do yours say?” and “This is my poster. What does yours say?”
Yes, you are correct that the usage depends on whether the subject of the sentence is singular or plural. Your two sentence pairs are correct.
What is correct:
a) Does the trainee understand that anything…?
or
b) Does the trainee understood that anything…?
Since the verb “does” is present tense, you need to match it with the present tense word “understand.” Therefore, a) is correct.
cuando usas How much does y cuando how much do
If the subject noun is singular, “how much does” is used.
Example: How much does one loaf of bread cost?
If the subject noun is plural, “how much do” is used.
Example: How much do two loaves of bread cost?
How do you explain do VS does with relation to “I”. For example, you say “I do” and not “I does” yet I is singular.
Sometimes the correct usage just has to be memorized. The verb do has two forms in the present indicative: does for the third person singular (he, she, and it) and do for the other subject pronouns (I, you, we, they).
It’s crazy, but something that I was so dead certain about only a few minutes ago appears confusing now.
What do the dog and THE cat have in common?
Or
What does the dog and the cat have in common? (this sounds wrong, and I’m sure it is wrong)
Because we’d say ” What does the dog have in common with the cat?”
The “the” would make a difference.
For eg,
The poet and writer has arrived(same person)
The poet and the writer have arrived.
Okay, I think I’ve got this clear, but it’d be nice if you can confirm!
In your first example, there are two subjects, dog and cat. Therefore, use the plural verb do.
What do the dog and the cat have in common?
In the second example, What does the dog have in common with the cat, there is a singular subject, dog. The singular form does is used. If poet and writer describes only one person, then use the singular verb has.
The poet and writer has arrived.
How often (does/do?) hot rock and clouds of smoke pour from volcanoes?
Since there are two subjects in your sentence connected by and (hot rock and clouds of smoke), use the plural form do.
How often do hot rock and clouds of smoke pour from volcanoes?
These days, I see alot of “go green” campaigns in malls. And behind each toilet doors, it says “When the trees disappear, so DO your toilet papers.” It keeps me wondering is it do/does your toilet papers?
If the plural word papers is used, then the plural verb do is correct.
Then how can you explain this to me:
Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on
(By the way lyrics of ‘Everything she does is magic’ from The Police)
Everything is the subject? I’m confused.
Many songs have bad grammar. The line “Everything she do just turns me on” is an error in subject-verb agreement. In this case, the complete subject is Everything she do. The simple subject is everything, and the verb turns agrees with it, which is fine. The verb do, however, does not agree with she. Therefore, the sentence should be written “Everything she does just turns me on.”
When a subject list is connected by ‘or’, is it a singular or plural subject? I’m sure ‘and’ makes it plural, just not positive about ‘or’. Both ‘do’ and does’ sound right to me in this situation.
Also, if ONE of the items in the list is plural does that make the whole subject plural? This is moot if all lists are plural, just wanted to ask in case they weren’t.
Correct/incorrect?: Do Bob or Betty care?
Correct/incorrect?: Do Bob or the managers care?
So glad you’re out here answering these questions!
Our “Subject and Verb Agreement” section of GrammarBook.com’s grammar rules addresses this issue. Rule 1 says, “Two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a singular verb.” Therefore, “Does Bob or Betty care?”
Rule 4 says, “When a singular subject is connected by or or nor to a plural subject, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.” Therefore, “Do Bob or the managers care?”
Question: Do Travelers have good life insurance policy? or Does Travelers have good life insurance?
Since Travelers is the name of an insurance company, it is a singular proper noun, not the plural of the word traveler. Therefore, use the singular verb does.
Does Travelers have good life insurance? Or, more properly, “Does Travelers offer a good life insurance policy?”
Q: In the question: “What does it do?” Why do we say do instead of does?
I know that “What does it does” is wrong but I can’t seem to figure out how to explain why.
Verbs may be classified as principal or auxiliary. A principal verb is one that can stand alone to express an act or state. An auxiliary verb is used with a principal verb to form a verb phrase that indicates mood, tense, or voice. In the question, “What does it do?” does is the main verb and do is the auxiliary. If you turn the question around and say, “It does do what?” you will notice that does acts as an auxiliary. As an auxiliary verb, do or does is always followed by the base form of the main verb, which in this case is do.
Hi,
Your explanation about the use of ‘does’ and ‘do’ is not correct. The correct explanation is as follows:
Use “Does” if the subject is third-person singular (he, she, it, John, Sally, the cat, etc.). Use “Do” everywhere else. Did for past tense.
Regards
Peter
Your explanation also works. There is nothing “incorrect” about my method.
HELP! Which one is correct?
1. What “do” she and her family do on the weekend?
2. What “does” she and her family do on the weekend?
Since there are multiple subjects (she and her family), use the plural form do.
What do she and her family do on the weekend?
Hi,
I need help with the following:
1. I don’t want to see her fail and don’t know why.
2. I don’t want to see her fail and doesn’t know why.
Can you let me know which one is correct and why? Many thanks
The first sentence is correct. The subject I agrees with the verb don’t. You would not say “I doesn’t.” You could also write the compound sentence I don’t want to see her fail, and I don’t know why.
which is correct?
What does she want?
or
What does she wants?
This sentence has the auxiliary verb does, so you need to use the verb want.
What does she want?
what about these sentences? i don’t know which one is correct:
a) She does has a fair skin.
b) She does have a fair skin.
c) Does she have a fair skin?
d) Does she has a fair skin?
e) She does drinks a plenty of water.
f) She does drink a plenty of water.
it is true that b, c and f are correct? why?
The word a is unnecessary in all of your sentences. If you omit the word a, then b, c, and f are correct. You used the auxiliary verb does, therefore, you need to use the verbs have and drink.
She does have fair skin.
Does she have fair skin?
She does drink plenty of water.
Which is correct?
He does things strangely
He do things strangely
The things he do are so strange
The things he does are so strange
Thanks.
The singular subject, he, takes the singular verb, does.
He does things strangely.
The things he does are so strange.
Do exercise allow for patients readiness for discharge?
Does exercise allow for patients readiness for discharge?
Which one is correct?
Thanks
Since the word exercise is a singular noun, use the verb does. Also, the word patients’ is a possessive plural noun (readiness of the patients) and requires an apostrophe. Therefore, to be grammatically correct, the sentence would be, “Does exercise allow for patients’ readiness for discharge?” While grammatically correct, this is an odd sentence as the notion that “exercise allows readiness” does not seem to have much meaning. Perhaps you mean something like, “Does exercise hasten patients’ readiness for discharge?” or “Does exercise facilitate patients’ readiness for discharge?”
Which one is correct?Does anyone of you have an account here or does anyone of you has an account.
Neither is correct. Anyone and any one often get confused. Anyone means “anybody.”
Example: Anyone can learn to play the game.
Any one means “any single member of a group of people or things.”
Example: Can any one of you tell me the answer to my question?
You could write any of the following:
Does any one of you have an account here? OR
Does anyone have an account here? OR
Do any of you have an account here?
Do any of your family know about me. or
Does any of your family know about me.
Do any of your friends know about me. or
Does any of your friends know about me.
The word any is an indefinite pronoun. It can be either singular or plural depending on what it is referring to. In your sentences, any refers to family and friends. Family is a collective noun, which in this case is not acting like a single unit (some family members may know you, some may not) and is therefore plural. The word friends is plural. Both words take the plural verb do. Also, your examples are questions and require a question mark at the end.
Do any of your family know about me?
Do any of your friends know about me?
THANKS JANE