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Which one is correct in a sentence?

  • He don't
  • He doesn't

I guess "he doesn't" should be correct because he is third person singular but I've seen some people using do with he. Which one is correct?

Lauren
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Chankey Pathak
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1 Answers1

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He doesn't is correct, because it is the contraction of He does not.
He don't is incorrect, because it it the contraction of He do not.

Subject-Verb agreement requires that he goes with does.

He don't, however, is slang and certainly used in many places, but you would never see it in professional writing, because of Subject-Verb agreement.

waiwai933
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    You would never see it today in professional writing. In the 1880's educated people said "he don't" (they didn't write it much, because they didn't write contractions much. But you'll find it in the plays of W S Gilbert, given to upper-class characters). It is a matter of fashion, and the argument with which this answer begins is no more than a rationalisation. – Colin Fine Jun 06 '11 at 11:40
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    I agree with you, @ColinFine , and IMO the rationalisation given for closing this question is no more than an [incorrect] answer. As your research and comment prove, neither "commonly-available references" nor those who rely solely on them for guidance hold all the answers. – Papa Poule Jan 30 '15 at 14:45
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    Except for subjunctive and for some African dialects. – skan Feb 08 '15 at 03:33
  • "is slang and certainly used in many places", where exactly? – Trey Dec 03 '17 at 04:02
  • It's common in AAVE: "Verbs are uninflected for number and person: there is no -s ending in the present-tense third-person singular. ... AAVE don't for standard English doesn't comes from this" – Stuart F Jan 18 '23 at 15:16