Verb: To Do, Does, Did

Let’s dive deeper into the usage, structure, and details of “do,” “does,” and “did”, covering every aspect thoroughly.

1. What Are “Do,” “Does,” and “Did”?

These are forms of the verb “to do”:

• • Do: Present tense (used with I, you, we, they)
  • Does: Present tense (used with he, she, it)
  • Did: Past tense (used with all subjects)

They can be:

• • Action Verbs: Expressing an activity (e.g., “I do my work every day.”)
  • Auxiliary Verbs: Helping to form questions, negatives, or adding emphasis (e.g., “Do you like chocolate?”).

2. Using “Do,” “Does,” and “Did” as Action Verbs

When used as an action verb, “to do” means performing an activity or task. It can appear in different tenses:

Examples:

• • Present Simple:
    “They do their chores every weekend.”
    “He does his exercises early in the morning.”
  • Past Simple:
    “I did my homework yesterday.”
    “She did all the cooking for the party.”
  • Present Perfect:
    “We have done a lot of studying for this test.”
  • Present Continuous:
    “They are doing a wonderful job!”

3. Spelling Tip for “Does”

For he, she, it, in the Present Simple, always add -es to “do” because it ends with the vowel “o.”

• • Examples:
    “He does his chores.”
    “The machine does its work automatically.”

4. Using “Do,” “Does,” and “Did” as Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs

Auxiliary verbs help in forming questions, negatives, or for emphasis. They are used with the base form of the main verb (e.g., eat, sleep, go).

Forming Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative, use:

• • don’t (do not) + base verb (for I, you, we, they)
  • doesn’t (does not) + base verb (for he, she, it)
  • didn’t (did not) + base verb (for all subjects in the past)

Examples:

1. Present:
“I don’t like coffee.”
“He doesn’t understand the question.”

2. Past:
“They didn’t finish their work.”
“She didn’t call yesterday.”

Forming Questions

To form a Yes/No question, start with do, does, or did, followed by the subject and base verb.

Examples:

1. Present:
“Do you work here?”
“Does your friend enjoy painting?”

2. Past:
“Did you call her yesterday?”

Adding Emphasis

Sometimes, “do,” “does,” or “did” is used for emphasis:

• • Present: “I do enjoy reading!”
  • Past: “She did clean her room.”

5. Wh-Questions with “Do,” “Does,” and “Did”

For more detailed questions, start with Wh-words (what, where, why, when, who, how), then add do, does, or did.

Examples:

1. “What do you want for dinner?”

2. “Why does he always forget his keys?”

3. “When did they arrive at the station?”

6. Exercises

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of do, does, or did:

1. _____ she always _____ her homework on time? (do)
2. They _____ not enjoy the movie. (do)
3. _____ you call your parents yesterday? (did)
4. What _____ he want to eat? (does)
5. Why _____ they not finish their work on time? (did)

Answers:

1. Does / do

2. do

3. Did

4. does

5. did

7. Examples Recap

Positive Sentences:

• • She does a great job every day.
  • They do their best to help others.
  • He did all the cleaning yesterday.

Negative Sentences:

• • I don’t eat fast food.
  • She doesn’t like cold weather.
  • They didn’t complete the assignment.

Questions:

1. Do you know her?
2. Does he enjoy swimming?
3. Did they visit the museum last weekend?

Wh-Questions:

1. What does she want?
2. Where did they go?
3. Why don’t you like this movie?