Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Shirley Tan
Page 1
I do my laundry on Saturdays.
They do their chores when they arrive home.
He does nothing all day.
She does charity work when she has time.
The past participle of DO is DONE. Remember that past participles are accompanied by TO
HAVE or TO BE (in the correct tense):
Shirley Tan
Page 2
TO DO - To replace a verb
We sometimes use the verb DO to replace a verb when the meaning is clear or obvious.
This replacement is more common in informal spoken English:
DO vs DOES in Questions
To make a question in the Simple Present Tense in English we normally put the auxiliary Do
or Does at the beginning of the question before the subject.
Affirmative: You speak Arabic.
Question: Do you speak Arabic?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to change it into a
question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.
Affirmative: He speaks Arabic.
Question: Does he speak Arabic?
When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative
sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence
(because it is in third person) disappears in the question.
NOTE: We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs
(can, must, might, should etc.)
Examples of DO and DOES in questions:
Notice there can be other words before Do and Does such as Question Words (Who, What
etc.)
Shirley Tan
Page 3
DID in Questions
To make a question in the Past Tense in English we normally put the auxiliary DID at the
beginning of the question or before the main subject.
DID is used with regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)
Both Do and Does in present tense questions become Didnt in past tense questions.
Compare the following:
Present: Do they live in Spain?
Past: Did they live in Spain?
The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary
DID shows that the question is in the past tense.
NOTICE: The only difference between a question in the present tense and a question in the
past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Examples of DID in questions:
To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't in the present
sentence.
Don't and Doesn't are used in negative sentences with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal
verbs (Can, might, should etc.).
Affirmative: You speak Spanish.
Negative: You don't speak Spanish.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the
subject is I, you, we or they.
Affirmative: He speaks Spanish.
Negative: He doesn't speak Spanish.
Shirley Tan
Page 4
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a
negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence
(because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence.
Examples of sentences using don't and doesn't:
In the past tense Didn't is used to make a negative sentence for all subjects (I / you / we /
they / he / she / it). This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English. (Exception is To Be
and Modal Verbs such as Can)
Compare the following:
Present: They dont live in Japan.
Past: They didnt live in Japan.
The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary
DIDNT shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.
NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the present tense and a
negative sentence in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Examples of sentences using Didn't:
I didn't want to go
He didn't study for the exam.
We didn't have time to finish the report.
They didn't like the movie.
DO - For Emphasis
Sometimes Do / Does / Did are used in positive sentences to give special emphasis. Note
that when speaking, the word (do/does/did) is stressed.
I do want to go. (We put stress on the word DO to emphasize that we want to go)
You do need to take an umbrella.
He does like spinach. (You may be surprised but yes, he likes spinach)
I did study. (Contrary to what you may believe... yes, I studied)
Shirley Tan
Page 5
Notice that Did is used for positive sentences in the past tense and that the main verb is in its
base form.
Do can also appear at the beginning of an imperative sentence to emphasize the importance
of that imperative verb.
Shirley Tan
Page 6