Hello!We now know how the Simple Present affirmative is formed. Now it's time to review the negative, interrogative and short answers. For the negative, the verb is always the base form of the infinitive for all grammatical persons, even for the third person singular. Negation is expressed by the negative auxiliary verb don't (doesn't for the third person singular ) placed just before the verb.
Observe these examples:
I speak English - I don't speak English
We wash the car - We don't wash the car
He reads well - He doesn't read well
In English, the Present Simple questions are always formed by putting the auxiliary do (or does for 3rd person singular) before the subject and then the base form of the verb. That is, the pattern looks like this:
[do / does + subject + infinitive].
Consider these examples:
Do you speak Spanish? Does Tom play football?
If there is a question word (interrogative pronoun), it appears in front of the verb in any case:
Where does your best friend live?
What do you do in the mornings?
Remember that if the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence, the interrogative sentence would not have any auxiliary, so the sentence would have the same order as a declarative sentence:
[Subject + interrogative pronoun + verb]
Who speaks English?
What happens?
For short answers, remember that you only use the auxiliary verb, not the main verb. That is, the subject pronoun will be always followed by the auxiliary, affirmative or negative, depending on the answer we give. Let's see:
Does Peter speak English? Yes, he does. Do you watch a lot of TV? No, I don't.
Do your parents have a car? Yes, they do.
NOTE: If you remember -I hope so- the verb 'to be', 'can' and 'have got' are special verbs that never go with any auxiliary do to form negative or interrogative. The same happens with short answers. Observe:
Are you Spanish? Yes, I am.
Have your parents got a car? Yes, they have.
Can I go to the toilet? No, you can't.
¡Hola!Bueno, ya vimos la forma afirmativa del Present Simple. Ahora toca repasar la negativa, la interrogativa y las respuestas cortas (short answers). Para la negativa, el verbo será siempre la forma base del infinitivo para todas las personas gramaticales, incluso para la tercera persona del singular. La negación se expresa mediante el verbo auxiliar negativo don't (eso sí, para la tercera persona del singular usamos doesn't) colocado justo delante del verbo.
Veamos unos ejemplos:
I speak English - I don't speak English
We wash the car - We don't wash the car
He reads well - He doesn't read well
En inglés, las preguntas con el Present Simple se hacen siempre anteponiendo al sujeto el auxiliar do (o does para 3ª persona del singular) para poner la forma base del verbo tras ellos. Es decir, que el patrón sería así: [do/does + subject + infinitive].
Veamos estos ejemplos.
Do you speak Spanish?
Does Tom play football?
Si tenemos un pronombre interrogativo, éste aparece delante del auxiliar en todo caso:
Where does your best friend live?
What do you do in the mornings?
Recordad que si el pronombre interrogativo es el sujeto de la oración, la oración interrogativa no llevaría auxiliar, con lo que el orden oracional sería el de una oración enunciativa:[Subject interrogative pronoun + verb]:
Who speaks English?
What happens?
Para las respuestas cortas, recordad que sólo usaremos el auxiliar, nunca el verbo. O sea, que pondremos siempre el pronombre sujeto seguido del auxiliar, afirmativo o negativo, dependiendo de la respuesta que demos. Veamos:
Does Peter speak English? Yes, he does.
Do you watch a lot of TV? No, I don't.
Do your parents have a car? Yes, they do.
OJO: Si os acordáis, que así lo espero, el verbo 'to be', 'can' y 'have got' eran verbos especiales que no llevaban auxiliar do para formar negativas ni interrogativas. Lo mismo ocurre con sus respuestas cortas. Observad:
Are you Spanish? Yes, I am.
Have your parents got a car? Yes, they have.
Can I go to the toilet? No, you can't.
Practice:
Exercise1, Exercise2, Exercise3, Exercise4, Exercise5.
