Know when to use does in questions - Difference between do and does

Do and Does are two of the most important words that we regularly use in conversations. The main reason is, no matter what verb we may use in our sentences, 'do' and 'does' are often used along with the verb as auxiliary verbs. In other words, 'do' and 'does' are words that support the main verb in your sentences. One has to understand the difference between 'do' and 'does' to get clarity on when to use 'does' in questions.

Let us first see the following examples.

1) James knows the answer to this question.

2) Emma brushes her teeth three times a day.

3) Dravid goes to school by helicopter everyday.

4) He has a crush on Sarah.

When to use does in questions?

When the above four examples are converted into questions, you will have to use Does. Take a look at the following questions.

a) Does James know the answer to this question?

b) Does Emma brush her teeth three times a day?

c) Does Dravid really go to school by helicopter everyday?

d) Does he have a crush on Sarah?

If you carefully see all the above questions that start with Does, you will notice that all the questions talk about only one person (i.e. singular). James, Emma, Dravid and He. This means, Does has to be used in questions for singular person or object. To understand this easily, you should also ask questions that start with Do.

Example questions using Do:

1) Do you know the answer to this question?
2) Do they really go to school by helicopter?
3) Do you now know when to use 'does' in questions?

From the above three questions, you can clearly understand that, whenever you are asking questions to the second person (You) or about third person (plural), you need to use Do instead of Does. Let us now frame few more questions using both 'do' and 'does' alternately. This will be a great way to know when to use does in questions and also to understand the difference between do and does.

Questions using Do and Does:

1) Do you know the answer?

2) Does she know the answer?

3) Does this flight go to America?

4) Do these flights go to America?

5) Does he always fight with the teacher?

6) Do they always fight with the teacher?

There are many more differences between do and does. If you have any more queries, feel free to ask them in the comment box below.

In time or On time? Know the difference

Time is a very important factor, not just in life, but also in English. If you are a working professional and you work under tight deadlines, more often than not, you will be hearing your superiors telling you to finish your works in time. Some people also use the phrase, on time. I am pretty sure by now you would be confused whether to use 'in time' or 'on time' in your sentences. You are reading this article to get rid of this confusion, aren't you? Let's get to the point right away.

You can either use in time or on time in your sentences. But, both have different meanings. Imagine that your manager has given you a deadline to finish an activity. The deadline is 3 pm. The following is your manager's dialogue.
"Hey buddy! I have assigned you a new activity. The deadline to finish this is 3 pm".

To make your manager know that you will finish this activity without any delay, you are telling him one of the following.
1) Hey manager! Don't worry. I will finish this task in time.
2) Hey manager! Don't worry. I will finish this task on time.

If you are saying the first sentence, it means that you will finish the task before 3 pm that is the deadline. If you are saying the second sentence, it means that you will finish the task exactly at 3 pm. This means that 'on time' is the exact time mentioned and 'in time' is anytime before the mentioned time. I am pretty sure you would have watched flight advertisements that say, 'on time, every time'. This means that the flight will take off exactly at the mentioned time without any delays. The following graph will give you a better understanding if you should say 'in time' or 'on time'.

Example sentences using in time / on time:

1) The train that Vincent boarded departed on time.

2) David is always good at finishing his assignments in time without any delays.

3) Though there were just few days left for the opening of a world-class hospital in Ohio, officials were confident that they would get all the necessary medical equipment in time for the surgical procedures.

4) Serena's father who is on an official tour to London promised her that he would return home in time for her birthday party next week.

5) Have you ever written an exam that did not start on time? 

Feel free to post your comments below.

Information 'is' or 'are' - Is information singular or plural?

Only countable nouns can be considered singular or plural. For example, 'detail' is singular, 'details' is a plural word. People always have a habit of thinking of the plural forms of any and every word they come across. Similarly in the case of information, many people use it as 'informations' which is completely wrong.  For starters, information is an uncountable noun and hence, it is always used as singular. To never forget that information is singular, remember the proverb, 'information is wealth'.

This takes us to the next question. Should I say, information 'is' or 'are' in sentences?  

You can now answer this question yourself. Because, information is singular, you can only say, information is.... The following are some of the sentences that will give you better clarity on how to use information in sentences.

1) George doesn't seem to have any information about the new building that will be soon constructed near his house.
2) The police were searching for a critical piece of information that will reveal the whereabouts of the criminal in the murder case.
3) When WHO declared Covid-19 as pandemic, scientists and biological researchers around the world started working in overdrive mode to find more information about the novel coronavirus so they could develop a vaccine.
4) Internet is always a place where you can get many useful information on any topic that you would like to learn about.
5) Never share your personal information like card number, pin, etc. with strangers, especially when you are speaking to them over the phone.
6) My friend gave me a lot of information about his research paper titled, Biology and its impact on humans.
 
In the example 6, 'a lot of information' is used. Do not use this phrase as 'a lot of the information that my friend told me are very useful'. The reason is 'are' should not be used for information. If needed, you can write the sentence as follows.
A lot of the information that my friend told me is very useful. However, the common way of saying this sentence is, My friend told me a lot of very useful information.

Feel free to post your comments or suggestions for a new topic.

How to use Share in sentences?

The following are some of the examples on how to use share in sentences.

1) It is always a good habit to share your happiness with others. 

2) Jessica is so fond of chocolates that she never shares even a piece of it with anyone in her school. 

3) Sharing your personal details with everyone, especially strangers, is not advisable. 

4) When Ramesh was declared the winner of the international 100 km marathon race, he vowed to share the majority of his prize amount with his coach who dedicated his life to help Ramesh succeed as a marathon runner. 

5) In the wake of novel coronavirus, James was asked by the Canadian government to share the details of his latest international trip with the physician appointed by the World Health Organization. 

6) Nancy is ready to share anything with her friend, Natalie. But she doesn't like sharing her room. 

7) Sharing sweets with friends and relatives is something that can be seen in abundant during festive seasons. 

8) For security purposes, Vincent was asked not to share his new phone number with his acquaintances. 

9) Social media is a great platform to share your knowledge of a particular subject with like-minded people. 

10) If you find the articles on this site useful, share this website link with your friends who are looking to hone their English skills.

'Share me' or 'Share with me' - Know how to use Share with example sentences

Let me say you are working in an office where you often communicate with your colleagues via mails and phone calls. You always ask your teammates to send you a particular document and you in turn would send them another or similar file if the need arises. Communication via mails is a teensy bit different. You often use words that you don't normally use while talking in person. Share is a similar word. How many of you have said or written mails mentioning, Can you share me the document asap? If you are one of them, it is time for you to learn how to use Share in sentences.

Share me or Share with me?

Imagine you need a file from your friend named John. You are drafting a mail. If you are using the word, Share, which of the following two sentences would you use?

1) Hey John! Can you share me the file asap?
2) Hey John! Can you share with me the file asap?

If you have been following option 1, it is time you stop following it right away. Option 1 is grammatically wrong. Only when you are using the word send, then you can say, Hey John! Can you send me the file asap? But, if you are using the word, share, only follow option 2.

Why share WITH me has to be used instead of share me?

Initially, Sharing was used for items like sweets, chocolates, etc. that people give everyone. If there is a box full of sweets, some sweets are shared with others so that the person who gives the sweets will also be left WITH some sweets for themself. To indicate that the sender also has some sweets with him after sharing, WITH is used. When you use the word Send, it means the entire sweet box is sent to another person. This will leave the sender with no sweets. That is why, when you use the word, send, WITH is not used.

But, our people have a knack for using words. They started interchanging the word Send and Share, so that communication sounds more formal. Over time, Send Me was replaced with Share Me. But, the correct way of saying this is Share With Me. I hope now you know whether you have to say share me or share with me.
Click here to know how to use Share with example sentences.