Do Does Did Done
In English do and does mark questions and habits while did marks past questions and done appears in perfect contexts. This short guide goes through each form with quick examples so you can see them in action.
Do
Use do for questions, negatives, and emphasis with plural subjects and I/you/we/they. It appears in the auxiliary position before the base verb.
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐣 I do my homework every day. | I complete my homework daily. |
| 🧹 I do the cleaning on weekends. | I clean the house on weekends. |
| 🥣 I do the dishes after dinner. | I wash the dishes after eating. |
| 🐝 I do my chores before playing. | I finish chores before playtime. |
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Does
Use does for questions, negatives, and emphasis with third person singular subjects. It also appears before the base verb and agrees with he/she/it.
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🐶 She does the dog’s grooming on Sundays. | She grooms the dog on Sunday. |
| 🍎 He does the grocery list every Friday. | He makes the grocery list each Friday. |
| 🧴 She does the plant watering twice a week. | She waters plants twice weekly. |
| 🚗 He does the car wash on Saturday mornings. | He washes the car Saturday morning. |
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Did
Use did for all subjects to form questions and negatives in the simple past. Did is the past tense auxiliary and is followed by the base verb.
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🧺 I did a big load of laundry yesterday. | I washed many clothes yesterday. |
| 🗑️ She did take out the trash last night. | She took out garbage last night. |
| 🧾 He did pay the bills on Monday. | He paid bills on Monday. |
| 🧭 They did organize the closet last weekend. | They sorted the closet last weekend. |
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Done
Done is the past participle of do and appears with have/has/had in perfect tenses. It can also be used adjectivally or in passive forms.
| English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ✅ I have done all my chores today. | I completed all chores today. |
| 💤 She is done with yard work and is resting. | She finished yard work and is resting. |
| 📚 He has done his study and can play now. | He completed studying and may play. |
| 🍪 They are done baking and set the cookies to cool. | They finished baking and cooled cookies. |
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Summary
Do and does help form questions and negatives in the present, did does the same for the past, and done appears in perfect constructions. Remember to match does to third person singular and to use the base verb after these auxiliaries.
Usage
Short tables show each form with example subjects and sentence patterns so you can quickly reference when to use do, does, did, and done in questions, negatives, and affirmatives.
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Last updated: Tue Sep 16, 2025