Use of do does and did

Use of do does and did 

Use of do does and did : Do you know how to use the words ‘Do,Does and Did’ correctly ? Here today, in this article we are going to discuss the use of do, does and did. 

Correct usage of Do, Does and Did

Here you can see a few examples of the correct usage of do, does and did in a sentence. 

• Do you know the correct usage of these words in questions ?

• Does he write the all the answers in the exam ? 

• Did you enjoy your class ? 

If you are confused, need not to worry then, we will make all this very simple for you in this article, so let’s have a look. 

This lesson is going to be very interesting where we will discuss the correct usage of do, does and did that can be pretty confusing at times.

But I will try to keep this lesson very simple without using too many complex grammar terms and we will also practice at the end of it.

Do, Does and Did are all forms of the verb to do.

In the Simple present tense - we use 'do or does'

And in the Simple past tense - we use did

Think of it like the word ‘do’ - example -

Simple present : I do, He does

Simple past : I did

Use of Do, Does and Did in English grammar

• Use of DO 

When we are talking about the subject - I, You, We, They, These, Those or any plurals' we use 'do' 

for example - I do a lot of work these days

You do volunteer work on Sundays

They do nothing at all

We do our laundry on weekends

Rajiv and Mohan do not like playing football (because Rajiv and Mohan are ‘they’)

Notice how I brought in a negative. Rajiv and Mohan do not like playing football or Rajiv and Mohan don’t like playing football.

• Use of DOES

When we are talking about third person singular – he, she, it, Rajiv, Mohan, the boy, the man' we use ‘does’ – just like you would use ‘goes’

example – Lalita does her homework everyday. 

He does his exercises every morning

• Use of DID

When we are talking in past tense we use Did. And it becomes fairly simple here because both do and does become did in the past tense

example – I did my work yesterday

She did her homework on time

The girls did ballet at school (plural)

The boy did not come to school yesterday (negative)

The negative of did is did not, when we speak it shortens to didn't. 

The negative forms of do, does and did

The negative forms of do and does are very simple, it's do not  (which becomes don’t) and does not (which contracts to doesn’t) when we speak. However, if you are writing a formal assignment or paper, we use the full forms – do not and does not.

Use of do,does and did as helping verb

‘Do’ is a general verb, it does not have any specific action associated with it. So it sometimes can be used in a few other ways too.

In forming Questions and negative statements. examples

• You study (Statement in Present Tense)

Do you study ? (Question) 

You do not / don't study (Negative)

• He walks (Statement in Present Tense)

Does he walk ? (Question)

He does not walk (Negative)

She loves cats (Statement in Present Tense) 

Does she love cats ? (Question) 

She does not love cats. (Negative) 

Notice what happens to the verbs walk, study and love– these remain in their base form, in simple present. 

Questions in the Past tense

He eats bread. (Statement in simple present tense)

Does he eat bread ? (Question in simple present tense)

Did he eat bread ? (Question in simple past tense)

There is no change in the sentence except for Does becoming Did.

It will be wrong to say – did he ate bread. It is – Did he eat bread

Use of Do, Does, Did exercises

Let’s practice making questions together - you will find the solutions at the end of the article for you to check

(i) ____ you know about the test tomorrow ? 

(ii) ____ the teacher give homework everyday ? 

(iii) ____ Valli and Amanda know about the submission tomorrow ? 

(iv) ____ you know what happened in the club today ? 

(v) ____anyone have my textbook ? 

(vi) ____ you go to school yesterday ? 

Ans:

Do you know about the test tomorrow ? 

Does the teacher give homework everyday ? 

Do Valli and Amanda know about the submission tomorrow ? 

Do you know what happened in the club today ? 

Does anyone have my textbook ? 

Did you go to school yesterday ? 

1. They speak English

2. He lives in Delhi

3. The earth moves around the sun

4. The lady has black hair

5. We like playing

Ans:

1. They speak English. (Statement) 

Do they speak English? (Present Tense)

Did they speak English? (Past Tense)

They do not speak English (Negative)

2. He lives in Delhi. (Statement) 

Does he live in Delhi ? (Present Tense)

Did he live in Delhi ? (Past Tense)

He does not live in Delhi (Negative)

3. The earth moves around the sun. (Statement) 

Does the earth move around the sun ? (Present Tense)

Did the earth move around the sun ? (Past Tense)

The earth does not move around the sun (Negative)

4. The lady has black hair. (Statement) 

Does the lady have black hair ? (Present Tense)

Did the lady have black hair ? (Past Tense)

The lady does not have black hair (Negative)

5. We like reading. (Statement) 

Do we like reading? (Present Tense)

Did we like reading? (Past Tense)

We do not like reading (Negative)