Learn English – Why can’t you say don’t instead of won’t

do-supportfuture-tense

Our textbook says,

A: "I have to go shopping this afternoon."
B: "Don't forget the bread."
A: "No, I won't."

About the last sentence, why can't you say "No, I don't."?

i.e. Why is "No, I don't." not acceptable in this case:

Best Answer

So what you seem to be having trouble with are tenses. The present simple tense can be used for things that happen regularly, sometimes, or never, but also for commands.

  1. Don't do that!
  2. I sometimes do it.
  3. I never do so.

1 is a command, whereas 2 and 3 are not. "Don't forget the bread" is a command, just like 1.

Now, when the person listening to the command answered, he used the future simple tense to answer, "I will not", meaning he will not forget the bread on that specific day. "I don't" wouldn't be applicable here as you A can't command yourself, and B it doesn't provide any meaning regarding the timing. Nevertheless, if one would have wanted to use the present simple tense in that case, then the appropriate answer would be, "I never do."

Related Topic