What is the present indefinite formula?

It is the sentence skeleton of the present simple, written as four conversions: affirmative (subject + verb + s), negative (do/does not), question (do/does + subject), and negative question (don't/doesn't). Harun oils the loom every Friday becomes Harun does not oil the loom, Does Harun oil the loom, and Doesn't Harun oil the loom.

When do I add -s in the present indefinite?

Only in the affirmative, and only after he, she, it, or a singular name: Harun oils, the tram stops, Priya carries. In negatives and questions the -s moves onto does, and the main verb is bare: Harun does not oil, Does Priya carry. I, you, we, they never take -s on the main verb.

What is the formula for a present indefinite question?

The formula is Do or Does plus subject plus base verb: Does Harun oil the loom every Friday, and Do they oil the loom on Fridays. Put a question word in front if you need one (When does Harun oil the loom), and do not invert the main verb or keep the -s on it.

How do I write a negative question?

Use the contraction in front of the subject: Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday. Don't they oil the loom on Fridays. The full form is Does Harun not oil the loom every Friday, with not after the subject. Both are correct; the contracted form is what you will hear.

Does the verb be use the same formula?

No. Be uses am, is, and are, adds not for the negative, and inverts for the question: Harun is a weaver, Harun is not a weaver, Is Harun a weaver, Isn't Harun a weaver. There is no do or does. The four do-formulas on this page are for every other verb.

English grammar · Beginner

Present Indefinite Formula: Affirmative, Negative, and Questions

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

The present indefinite formula is the sentence pattern for the present simple, written as four conversions of the same idea: affirmative, negative, question, and negative question. The verb is the base form (oil, live, carry), with -s or -es after he, she, and it in the affirmative. Do and does carry the tense in negatives and questions, and the main verb goes back to the base form. This page is the skeleton, not a full lesson on when to use the tense.

Harun oils the loom every Friday.

affirmative formula: subject, verb with third-person s, object, time

What it is

Present indefinite is another name for the present simple, and its formulas are four shapes of one sentence. Start from a statement: Harun oils the loom every Friday. The negative inserts does not and strips the -s from the verb: Harun does not oil the loom every Friday. The question moves does in front of the subject: Does Harun oil the loom every Friday. The negative question keeps that inversion and adds not: Does Harun not oil the loom every Friday, or Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday. One idea, four frames.

Harun oils the loom every Friday. → Harun does not oil the loom every Friday. → Does Harun oil the loom every Friday? → Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday?

How to spot it

Write the four slots on a line: subject, auxiliary (if any), verb, rest. Affirmative has no auxiliary except be. Negative and question borrow do or does. The -s lives on the verb in the affirmative, and on does everywhere else.

Harun oils the loom every Friday. (affirmative: oils carries the -s)
Harun does not oil the loom every Friday. (negative: does takes the -s, oil is bare)
Does Harun oil the loom every Friday? (question: does before the subject)
Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday? (negative question: doesn't plus subject plus bare verb)

Do goes with I, you, we, they, and all plurals. Does goes with he, she, it, and any singular name such as Harun or the tram. Mix them and the formula breaks: Harun do not oil is two errors at once.

Present Indefinite Tense Formula Quick Reference

The four present indefinite formulas (verb: oil)

Type	Formula	Harun (third person)	I / you / we / they
Affirmative	Subject + verb ( + s/es) + rest	Harun oils the loom.	I oil the loom.
Negative	Subject + do/does + not + verb + rest	Harun does not oil the loom.	I do not oil the loom.
Question	Do/Does + subject + verb + rest?	Does Harun oil the loom?	Do I oil the loom?
Negative question	Don't/Doesn't + subject + verb + rest?	Doesn't Harun oil the loom?	Don't I oil the loom?
Be (affirmative)	Subject + am/is/are + rest	Harun is a weaver.	I am a weaver. They are weavers.
Be (negative / question)	am/is/are + not; invert am/is/are	Harun is not a weaver. Is Harun a weaver?	I am not. Are they weavers?

Common Present Indefinite Tense Formula Examples in English

One idea moved through the four formulas, then the same four with I and they, so the -s and do/does swap is visible:

One Sentence, Four Frames

Harun oils the loom every Friday.: affirmative: third-person -s on oil
Harun does not oil the loom every Friday.: negative: does not, bare oil
Does Harun oil the loom every Friday?: question: Does + subject + bare verb
Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday?: negative question, contracted form

The rest of the sentence (the loom every Friday) never changes. Only the front of the verb phrase is rebuilt.

The Same Formulas without -s

I oil the loom every Friday.: affirmative: I takes no -s
They do not oil the loom on Fridays.: negative: do not, not does not
Do you oil the loom every Friday?: question: Do + you + bare verb
Don't they oil the loom on Fridays?: negative question with don't

With I, you, we, they, the verb never takes -s, and the auxiliary is always do, not does.

Third-Person -s in the Affirmative Only

The tram stops at the allotment gate.: stop → stops
Priya carries the seed trays at dawn.: carry → carries, y to ies
The kiln reaches 1,260 degrees by noon.: reach → reaches, -es after ch
Harun does not carry the seed trays.: does has the -s; carry is bare

Spelling of the affirmative -s: most verbs add -s, -es after o, s, x, ch, sh, and y after a consonant becomes ies. None of that spelling applies after do or does.

How the Four Formulas Work

Build the affirmative first. Every other frame is a conversion of that sentence, not a new idea.

Affirmative: Subject + Verb (+ s) + Rest

Use the dictionary form of the verb after I, you, we, they, and all plurals: I oil, they oil, the looms oil. After he, she, it, and any singular name, add -s or -es: Harun oils, the tram stops, Priya carries. There is no auxiliary. Time expressions (every Friday, at dawn, on weekdays) sit at the end, or sometimes at the front, and do not change the formula.

Priya carries the seed trays at dawn.

singular name: carry becomes carries

He/she/it: add -s. Everyone else: base form.

Negative: Put Do/Does + Not in Front of the Bare Verb

The present indefinite has no auxiliary of its own, so it borrows do. Does not (doesn't) goes with he, she, it, and singular names; do not (don't) goes with everyone else. The main verb loses its -s and returns to the base form. Harun oils becomes Harun does not oil, never Harun does not oils and never Harun oils not.

Harun does not oil the loom every Friday.

does carries person and tense; oil is bare

do/does + not + base verb.

Question: Move Do/Does in Front of the Subject

The same auxiliary that made the negative now moves before the subject. Does Harun oil the loom. Do they oil the loom. The main verb stays bare. A question word, if you need one, goes in front of do or does: When does Harun oil the loom. Where do they oil the looms. Do not keep the -s on the main verb, and do not invert the main verb itself (Oils Harun the loom is not English).

Does Harun oil the loom every Friday?

does, then subject, then bare oil

Do/Does + subject + base verb.

Negative Question: Invert, Then Add Not

A negative question asks for confirmation of a negative idea, or expresses surprise. The contracted form is the one you will hear: Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday. Don't they oil the loom on Fridays. The full form places not after the subject: Does Harun not oil the loom every Friday. Both are grammatical. The contracted form is the default in speech.

Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday?

doesn't plus subject plus bare verb, the usual spoken form

Don't/Doesn't + subject + base verb.

Common Mistakes with Present Indefinite Tense Formula

Incorrect: Harun does not oils the loom every Friday.

Correct: Harun does not oil the loom every Friday.

Does already carries the third-person -s. The main verb must go back to the base form. Marking person twice, on does and on oils, is the most common formula error.

Incorrect: Do Harun oil the loom every Friday?

Correct: Does Harun oil the loom every Friday?

Harun is a third-person singular subject, so the borrowed auxiliary is does, not do. Do is for I, you, we, they, and plurals.

Incorrect: Oils Harun the loom every Friday?

Correct: Does Harun oil the loom every Friday?

The present indefinite never inverts the main verb. It borrows do or does and puts that word in front of the subject. Oils Harun is a pattern from other languages, not from English.

Incorrect: Does Harun is a weaver?

Correct: Is Harun a weaver?

Be has its own formula and does not take do or does. Invert is, am, or are directly. The do-formulas on this page apply to other verbs, not to be.

The Verb Be: A Different Formula

Be does not borrow do. It has its own three forms, and those forms invert and take not by themselves.

Am, is, are in all four frames

Affirmative: I am, he/she/it is, you/we/they are. Negative: add not (I'm not, isn't, aren't). Question: invert (Am I, Is Harun, Are they). Negative question: Isn't Harun a weaver. Aren't they weavers. There is no do, and there is no oils-style -s added to be.

Harun is a weaver at the mill.: affirmative be
Harun is not a weaver at the mill.: negative: is not, no do
Is Harun a weaver at the mill?: question: invert is, no does
Isn't Harun a weaver at the mill?: negative question with isn't

Does Harun is a weaver is the error this formula prevents. If the verb is be, leave do in the box.

Worked conversion with be

Take one sentence and run the same four-step conversion you used with oil.

The tram is empty at dawn.: affirmative
The tram is not empty at dawn.: negative
Is the tram empty at dawn?: question

The rest of the sentence (empty at dawn) is unchanged in every frame, just as the loom every Friday was unchanged with oil.

Quick Check: Present Indefinite Tense Formula

Convert each sentence into the frame named in brackets. Keep the same subject and the same rest.

1. Harun oils the loom every Friday. Negative: Harun ___ the loom every Friday.

Answer: does not oil / doesn't oil

does not + bare oil

2. Priya carries the seed trays at dawn. Question: ___ Priya carry the seed trays at dawn?

Answer: Does

Does + Priya + carry

3. They oil the loom on Fridays. Negative question: ___ they oil the loom on Fridays?

Answer: Don't

don't + they + oil

4. The tram stops at the allotment gate. Same idea with I: I ___ at the allotment gate.

Answer: stop

I takes no -s

5. Harun is a weaver at the mill. Question: ___ Harun a weaver at the mill?

Answer: Is

be inverts; no does

Present Indefinite Tense Formula FAQs

What is the present indefinite formula?: It is the sentence skeleton of the present simple, written as four conversions: affirmative (subject + verb + s), negative (do/does not), question (do/does + subject), and negative question (don't/doesn't). Harun oils the loom every Friday becomes Harun does not oil the loom, Does Harun oil the loom, and Doesn't Harun oil the loom.
When do I add -s in the present indefinite?: Only in the affirmative, and only after he, she, it, or a singular name: Harun oils, the tram stops, Priya carries. In negatives and questions the -s moves onto does, and the main verb is bare: Harun does not oil, Does Priya carry. I, you, we, they never take -s on the main verb.
What is the formula for a present indefinite question?: The formula is Do or Does plus subject plus base verb: Does Harun oil the loom every Friday, and Do they oil the loom on Fridays. Put a question word in front if you need one (When does Harun oil the loom), and do not invert the main verb or keep the -s on it.
How do I write a negative question?: Use the contraction in front of the subject: Doesn't Harun oil the loom every Friday. Don't they oil the loom on Fridays. The full form is Does Harun not oil the loom every Friday, with not after the subject. Both are correct; the contracted form is what you will hear.
Does the verb be use the same formula?: No. Be uses am, is, and are, adds not for the negative, and inverts for the question: Harun is a weaver, Harun is not a weaver, Is Harun a weaver, Isn't Harun a weaver. There is no do or does. The four do-formulas on this page are for every other verb.