Posted by When should I use don’t and when should I use doesn’t? According to Learner’s Dictionary many are asking whether don’t or doesn’t is correct in a particular sentence, or asking about the difference between don’t and doesn’t.
Both don’t and doesn’t are contractions using the verb do and the word not. It’s easier to see which one is the correct choice if you expand the contractions: don’t is a contraction of “do not” and doesn’t is a contraction of “does not.” We know that a verb with a third person singular subject gets an -s or -es on the end in the simple present tense. This is true for all regular verbs.
The verb call has an -s when it has a third person singular subject:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I call | we call |
| 2nd person | you call | you call |
| 3rd person | he/she/it calls | they call |
The verb call has an -s when it has a third person singular subject:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I call | we call |
| 2nd person | you call | you call |
| 3rd person | he/she/it calls | they call |
With a third person singular subject, the verb do becomes does:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I do | we do |
| 2nd person | you do | you do |
| 3rd person | he/she/it does | they do |
So then, in the contractions with the word not, don’t becomes doesn’t with a third person singular subject:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | I don’t [I do not] | we don’t [we do not] |
| 2nd person | you don’t [you do not] | you don’t [you do not] |
| 3rd person | he/she/it doesn’t [he/she/it does not] | they don’t [they do not] |
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