Jump to content
Linguaholic

"Does he causes any problems for you" or "Does he cause any problems for you"?


CeliVega

Recommended Posts

Or the third option : "Does he caused any problems for you".

Which one is better when you are asking a question like this? I am not too sure if this is even correct. Should it be "Did he caused any problems for you"?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you ask a direct question you don't change the main verb, it has to be in the infinitive with just removing "to", what you change is the verb "To do" in the beginning of the direct question, here is what i mean:

In the simple present tense: You should use "Does" with only the subjects "He" or "She" or "It" and for the all the other subjects you use "Do".

Does he go to school?

Does it work that way?

Does she see a doctor?

Do you have a cellphone?

Do they see it?

For the past tense, you use only "Did" in the beginning of the question with all subjects and without changing the main verb.

Did you see her yesterday?

Did he read a book last week?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others have said, the answer is "Does he cause any problems for you?"

For causes to be correct, you'd have to use it as a statement

"He causes problems for you."

or, you could using a rising inflection in your voice to make it a question

"He causes problems for you?"  (this would indicate some surprise on the part of the person asking the question. "He causes problems for you? Wow! He was great when I worked with him.")

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

I understand the dilemma! I have been writing and speaking in English for a long time, but I still get in trouble sometimes when using does/did/do especially when I am in a hurry. Thankfully, I catch my errors in time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...