Present simple: negative sentences
Make negative sentences with don’t and doesn’t.
In this lesson you will
- Make negatives with don’t + base verb
- Use doesn’t with he / she / it
- Avoid adding -s after doesn’t
Learn
For negatives in the present simple, use do not (don’t) or does not (doesn’t) + the base form of the verb.
I / you / we / they + don’t + verb: I don’t eat meat. They don’t live here.
He / she / it + doesn’t + verb: She doesn’t drive. It doesn’t work. The -s is in doesn’t, so the main verb has no -s: He doesn’t like (not doesn’t likes).
Be careful with be: its negative is I’m not / isn’t / aren’t, not don’t: I’m not hungry (not I don’t hungry).
| Subject | Negative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | don’t + verb | We don’t work on Sundays. |
| he / she / it | doesn’t + verb | He doesn’t like fish. |
Examples
- I don’t like horror films.
- We don’t have a car.
- She doesn’t speak French.
- My phone doesn’t work.
- They don’t watch TV in the morning.
Vocabulary
like
think something is nice
“I like pizza.”
drive
control a car
“She doesn’t drive.”
have
own; possess
“We have two cats.”
watch
look at TV, a film, a game
meat
food from animals
often
many times
Practice
I ___ coffee.
Listening: Not a morning person
Audio isn’t available in this browser — read the transcript instead.
Kate: Do you want to go running at six tomorrow?
Max: No way! I don’t get up early at the weekend.
Kate: Really? My brother doesn’t sleep late — he runs every morning.
Max: Well, I don’t run. I don’t like sport very much.
1.Max gets up early at the weekend.
2.What does Kate’s brother do every morning?
3.Max likes sport very much.
Speaking
Say five things you don’t do, and three things your friend doesn’t do.
Model answer
I don’t smoke. I don’t eat fast food… My friend doesn’t drink coffee.
Writing
Write about a family member: four things they do and four things they don’t do.
Lesson quiz
They ___ in the city.
Review
Key points
- don’t + verb for I/you/we/they; doesn’t + verb for he/she/it.
- No -s after doesn’t: he doesn’t like.
- With be, use not: I’m not, she isn’t.
What you learned
- ✓ I can make negative sentences.
- ✓ I can use doesn’t correctly.
- ✓ I can say what I don’t do.
Grammar reference: Present simple