Like, Likes, Don’t like, Doesn’t like – Present Simple Tense in English
AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES WITH LIKE
Like + thing/object/person
- I like chocolate.
- You like flowers.
- We like card games.
- They like books.
Let’s look at the first sentence again.
- I like chocolate.
But for this person, SHE…. what do we say? We say…
- She likes chocolate.
For he, she, it we use LIKES with an S at the end.
- She likes chocolate.
- He likes ice cream.
- It likes bones.
Remember IT is for animals.
NEGATIVE SENTENCES WITH LIKE
Look at this sentence:
- I like snakes.
Yes, I work at a zoo, and I like snakes. This is an affirmative sentence.
How can we make this a negative sentence?
- I don’t like snakes.
We use DON’T to make negatives sentences (in the present simple tense) when the subject is I, YOU, WE, or THEY. You put DON’T before the verb.
- I like snakes.
- I don’t like snakes.
Don’t is a contraction of do not. You can say:
- I don’t like snakes … OR …
- I do not like snakes.
Contractions are very common in spoken English.
More examples of negative sentences with don’t like:
- I don’t like windy days.
- You don’t like injections.
- We don’t like spiders.
- They don’t like spinach.
Now look at this sentence:
- He likes dogs.
What is the negative of this? The negative of this is…
- He doesn’t like dogs.
We use DOESN’T to make negatives sentences (in the present simple tense) when the subject is HE, SHE, or IT. You put DOESN’T before the verb.
- He likes dogs.
- He doesn’t like dogs.
NOTICE: There is no S at the end of LIKE. There is no S at the end of the verb in negative sentences.
We cannot say:
- He doesn’t likes dogs. This is not correct.
- He doesn’t LIKE dogs. This is correct.
Also doesn’t is a contraction of does not.
You can say:
- He doesn’t like dogs. … OR …
- He does not like dogs.
Contractions are more common in spoken English.
More examples of negative sentences with doesn’t like:
- He doesn’t like bad news.
- She doesn’t like winter.
- My cat doesn’t like dogs.
(My cat refers to IT… it doesn’t like dogs)
Remember: NO S at the end of like in negative sentences.
QUESTIONS WITH LIKE
For questions, we simply add DO or DOES at the beginning.
- You like chocolate. (This is an affirmative sentence)
How can we change this into a question?
For I, you, we, they we add DO at the beginning to make it a question. It becomes…
- Do you like chocolate?
And with this sentence…
- He likes chocolate. (This is an affirmative sentence)
How can we change this into a question?
For he, she, it we add DOES at the beginning to make it a question.
- Does he like chocolate?
Again, there is no S at the end of the verb in questions.
Look at the following questions.
We can respond with short answers.
- Do you like chocolate?
Yes, I do. … OR … No, I don’t. - Does she like chocolate?
Yes, she does … OR … No, she doesn’t.
More examples of questions using like:
- Do you like fast food? Yes, I do.
- Do they like secrets? Yes, they do.
- Does she like sales? Yes, she does.
- Does he like broccoli? Yes, he does.
Answer these questions about you:
- Do you like dogs?
- Do you like coffee?
- Do you like pizza?
- Do you like horror movies?
English Practice Exercises
For Spanish Speakers learning English
En esta lección explico (en español) – Cómo usar el verbo LIKE en inglés: