Present Simple Tense – Questions, Negatives, and Negative Questions

1. Forming Yes/No Questions

To ask a yes/no question in the Present Simple, we use the auxiliary verb do or does before the subject.

• Do for: I / you / we / they
• Does for: he / she / it

The main verb stays in the base form, regardless of the subject.

Structure:

Do/Does + subject + base verb + (rest of sentence)?

Examples:

• Do you like pizza?
• Does she play the piano?
• Do they live nearby?
• Does it work properly?

2. Forming WH- Questions

WH- questions are formed by placing a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) before the auxiliary do/does and subject.

Structure:

Wh-word + do/does + subject + base verb + (rest)?

Examples:

• Where do you live?
• When does he arrive?
• What do they study?
• Why does she cry?
• How do you get to work?

Special case: "Who" as subject – When "who" is the subject, do/does is not used.

• Who plays football on Sundays?
• Who lives in that house?

3. Forming Negatives

To make a sentence negative in the Present Simple, we use do not or does not followed by the base form of the verb.

• Do not (don’t) for: I / you / we / they
• Does not (doesn’t) for: he / she / it

Structure:

Subject + do/does + not + base verb + (rest)?

Examples:

• I do not like cold weather.
• She does not speak French.
• They don’t watch TV during the week.
• He doesn’t enjoy spicy food.

Note: The main verb never takes -s in the negative form, even with he/she/it.

4. Forming Negative Questions

Negative questions are used to show surprise, to confirm information, or to express opinions. They start with Don’t or Doesn’t followed by the subject and base verb.

Structure:

Don’t/Doesn’t + subject + base verb + (rest)?

Examples:

• Don’t you like ice cream?
• Doesn’t she live in Paris?
• Don’t they know the answer?
• Doesn’t it look beautiful?

Alternative (less common): Negative word at the end of the sentence:

• Do you like pizza or not?
• Does he live here or not?

5. Summary Table