Does goes after he, she, it and any single person or thing; do goes after I, you, we, they and plural nouns. Both help to form questions and negatives in the present tense. After does, the main verb loses its -s: Does she work?, not Does she works?
do or does — can you pick the right one?
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Do + I/you/we/they + verb?; Does + he/she/it + base verb?; don't/doesn't + verb; everyone/nobody + does
- Do you usually work from home on Fridays?
- Does your flat have a balcony or a garden?
- My manager doesn't like long meetings, so she keeps them under thirty minutes.
What changed
First versionDo everyone know about the meeting tomorrow?
RevisionDoes everyone know about the meeting tomorrow?
Everyone means lots of people, so do seems logical. But in English everyone, everybody and nobody are singular, like he or she. So the question takes does.
In What does your sister do? the word do appears twice, but the two do different jobs. Does helps form the question, while do at the end is the verb meaning to do as a job, and after does it has no -s. The question asks what your sister's job is.
Your turn
___ your sister play any musical instruments?
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Does — Your sister is one person, she, so you need does. Do goes with I, you, we, they and plural nouns: Do your sisters play…?
Write a question to a new colleague that uses both do and does: ask about them and about someone close to them.
Do you live near the office, and does your wife work in IT too?
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