Level One

Lesson 12
do - present tense

The verb “do” is very important in the present tense. You use it as a main verb and as a helping verb. 

 

  • John does a lot of working during the day. (main verb) 
  • Sara does not work on the weekend. (helping verb) 
  • What do you do at work? (helping verb and main verb) 

Take Quiz #12 – do – present tense after you finish this lesson. 

 This old video that I made in 2010 may help you learn the difference between using “do” as a main verb and as a helping verb. 

Remember:  If “do” is a main verb, it requires an object to follow it: 

  • I do a lot of things during the day. (object = things
  • She does her shopping on the weekend. (object = shopping
  • They do the dishes in the sink. (object = dishes

12a. do - the present tense ✍🏾

The main verb is in the present tense. 

The verb “do” represents verbs of action. 

do

singular

I do

you do

he does

she does

it does 

 

plural

we do 

you do

they do

Compare the verb “do” to a regular verb such as “work.” 

work

singular

I work 

you work

he works

she works

it work

 

plural

we work 

you work 

they work 

The main verbs above are “work” and “do.” You may use both as action verbs. The verb “do” is used as a main verb or as a helping verb.  Read the examples. 

12a. Examples

farmer, plantation, manual work-1367104.jpg
  • He works every day. 
  • He does a lot of work. 
  • I work every day. 
  • I do a lot of work. 
  • Most people work every day. 
  • They do a lot of work. 
sewing machine, sewing, line art-7321609.jpg
  • Machines work
  • This sewing machine works
  • A machine can do a lot of work. (In this last example, “work” is a noun. The verb “do” is the main verb in the sentence.)  

Making the verb "do" negative

12b. do - present tense - negative ✍🏾

The verb “do” is a helping verb and a main verb. This is a little confusing when “do” is the main verb

do + not + do = don’t do

do + does + not = doesn’t do

singular

I don’t do it. 

You don’t do it. 

He doesn’t do it. 

She doesn’t do it. 

It doesn’t do it. 

 

plural

We don’t do it.  

You don’t do it. 

They don’t do it. 

The main verb “do” is made negative by using “do” as a helping verb in the present tense. It’s very important that you know how to do this! 

12b. examples

farmer, plantation, manual work-1367104.jpg
  • He doesn’t work any work on the weekend. 
  • I don’t do a lot of work on the weekend. I try to rest. 
  • Some people never do any work on their day of rest. 

Another way to make “do” negative is to use the adverb “never.” If the sentence begins with “let’s,” use “not” without a helping verb:  

 Let’s not do this. 

do – present tense (PDF)

Directions: Use the correct form of “do” in the present tense for each of these sentences. 

1. She _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ her homework after school. 

2. The students  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ their assignments in class. 

3. Mario  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  a lot of work on his house. 

4. The housekeepers  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  the vaccuuming every night. 

5. Our mother  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the grocery shopping for our household.   

6. Let’s  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  it now. 

7. We  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ our exercising at the gym. 

8. Peter  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a lot of things with his kids. 

9. You  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  the dishes in the sink. 

10. This car  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ all the driving by itself. 

11. Just _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ your best. 

12. Sara _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ yoga to keep fit. 

13. What they _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is their own business. 

14. That _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ it! 

15. Our grandmother _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the crossword puzzle every weekend. 

16. I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ my laundry on the weekend. 

17. Graciella _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ most of the cooking at her house. 

18. Teachers _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ good work for their students. 

19. Recycling waste _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ good things for the environment. 

20. You _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the exercise at the end of the lesson.  

After you finish this exercise, try to make each of the sentences above negative by using “do” as a helping verb. 

In Lesson Thirteen, you learn to make present tense verbs negative.