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?”
Pop 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?
Pop Quiz 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 Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at 11:00 pm
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2 Comments on What Does vs. What Do
Are these sentences correct?
What does my friend expect from me?
What does her mother expect from her children?
What does her mother expect from her daughter?
What do your friend expect you to do?
What does her mother expect her to do?
The following are grammatically correct:
What does my friend expect from me?
What does her mother expect from her children?
What does her mother expect from her daughter?
What does her mother expect her to do?
We recommend the following changes to the other sentence:
What does your friend expect you to do? OR What do your friends expect you to do?