Do / Does / Did in Sentences

Do, Does , Did are different forms of the verb “To Do”. It is used as an Ordinary verb as well as a Primary Auxiliary.

First of all we will look at it as an ordinary verb

Do / Does as a main verb in Simple Present Tense

Let’s develop sentences using do and Does as ordinary verbs using the above table.

• They do nothing at all these days.
• We do nothing at all these days.
• You do nothing at all these days.
• I do nothing at all these days.
• He does nothing at all these days.
• She does nothing at all these days.
• Rita does nothing at all these days.

All these sentences are in the Simple Present Tense. We use the verb forms Do and Does to talk about the things we usually do in the present.

As you can see, Do is used with all the plural subjects and Does with all the Singular subjects except for I and You.

Did as a main verb in Simple Past Tense

Did is used to talk about an action we performed in the past.

Let’s develop a few sentences with other possible subjects in order to understand how the verb is used in sentences.

• They did a good presentation yesterday.
• We did a good presentation yesterday.
• You did a good presentation yesterday.
• I did a good presentation yesterday.
• He did a good presentation yesterday.
• She did a good presentation yesterday.
• Rita did a good presentation yesterday.

Did is used with both singular and plural subjects in the Simple Past Tense when we talk about things we did in the past.

Do, Does - As auxiliary verbs

Do and Does are used as auxiliary verbs in forming Negative Sentences and questions in the Simple Present Tense. The main verbs in such sentences are usually Action verbs.

The meaning of the word “Auxiliary” is providing additional support. So Do, Does and DId as Auxiliary verbs provide additional support to other ordinary verbs like go, run, work, eat.

Therefore, as in this example, we use Do and Does to make questions and negative sentences in the Simple Present Tense. The questions thus made come under the category of “Yes/No questions. Simple Present Tense is used when we talk about present time, about things in general, about things we usually do or do not do.

Let’s take an example :-

The main verb here is “Work” and Do and Does come to provide a support service.

When you create a question and a negative sentence, you choose Do or Does based on the Subject. If it is a Plural subject you choose Do and if it is singular you choose does. However, whether the subject is singular or plural, the main verb stays in its original form when forming a question or a negative sentence.

Did - As an Auxiliary Verb

When we use DID as an Auxiliary verb, it also provides additional support to other ordinary verbs to create Negative Sentences and Questions in the Simple Past Tense, when we talk about Yesterday, Last year and so forth.

• I worked hard yesterday.
• I did not work hard yesterday.
• Did I work hard yesterday ?

Let’s take the same example :-

Do / Does / Did - as short answers

Do does and Did are also used in short answers as follows.

• Do you work hard ?
• Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
• Does she work hard ?
• Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t.
• Did they work hard ?
• Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.